THE 


SEMI-CENTENNIAL  CONVENTION 


OF  THE 


3ARD  OF  Domestic  Missions, 


HELD  AT 


NEWAEK,  E.  J., 


WEDNESDAY,  NOVEMBER  8,  1882. 


By  Order  of  the  General  Synod. 


NEWAKK,  N.  J.  : 

Amzi  Pierson  &  Co.,  21S-220  Market  St. 
1883. 


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V. 


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THE  JUBILEE  MEETING. 


The  Jubilee  Convention,  appointed  to  be  held  by  the  General  Synod  at  New¬ 
ark,  N.  J.,  on  November  8,  assembled  at  the  First  Reformed  Church  at  11 
o’clock  A.  M. 

S.  R.  W.  Heath,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Board,  presided. 

Rev.  T.  Chalmees  Easton,  D.D.,  of  New  Brunswick,  read  the  110th  Psalm, 
and  Rev.  Dr.  Gustavus  Abeel  offered  prayer. 

An  address  of  welcome  was  delivered  by  Rev.  Dr.  W.  H.  Gleason,  the  pastor 
of  the  Church.  Rev.  Dr.  William  Oemiston,  of  New  York,  responded  in  be¬ 
half  of  General  Synod. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Ransfoed  Wells,  as  the  first  pastor  of  the  church  in  which 
the  Convention  met,  made  an  address  full  of  interesting  reminiscences. 

During  the  recess  the  ladies,  in  large  numbers,  met  and  organized  the  Ladies’ 
Central  Executive  Committee  of  Domestic  Missions.  A.fter  the  recess  a  paper, 
prepared  by  the  Rev.  Edwaed  W.  Bentley,  D.D.,  “  On  the  Past  and  Future  of 
the  Reformed  Church  in  Home  Missionary  Work,”  was  read.  It  was  responded 
to  by  Rev.  Dr.  Goyn  Talmage.  A  paper  was  also  read  by  Rev.  A.  Thompson, 
“  On  the  Special  Work  of  the  Reformed  Church  among  the  Hollanders. 

A  kindred  paper  “  On  the  Work  among  the  Germans”  was  read  by  the  Rev. 
Leopold  Mohn,  D.D.,  of  Hoboken,  N.  J. 

A  paper  was  also  read  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  A.  Todd,  of  Tarry  town,  N.  Y., 
“  On  the  Church  Building  Fund^  its  Missionary  Character,  its  Vital  Importance 
and  its  Peculiar  Claims.” 

It  was  responded  to  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Edwaed  A.  Reed,  of  New  York. 

Before  the  session  closed  Dr.  West  presented  totals  of  the  receipts  of  the 
Domestic  Board  for  each  decade  since  its  organization.  They  were  as  follows : 


From  1833  to  1842 .  $46,843 

“  1842  to  1852 .  85,835 

“  1852  to  1862 .  158,340 

“  1862  to  1872 .  257,154 

“  1872  to  1882 .  339,319 


THE  EVENING  SESSION. 

During  the  day  the  ladies  who  had  come  as  delegates  from  the  various  Classes 
met  with  the  brethren  of  the  Board,  to  arrange  for  organized  efforts  in  behalf 


4: 


of  the  Home  work.  Accordingly,  the  opening  paper  of  the  evening  was  to  dis¬ 
cuss  woman’s  work,  and  a  paper  was  read  by  the  Rev.  Coenelius  Brett,  of 
Bergen,  N.  J.,  “On  Woman’s  Works  in  Behalf  of  the  Board  of  Domestic  Mis¬ 
sions.” 

It  was  responded  to  by  the  Rev.  James  LePevee,  of  Middlebush,  N.  J.  The 
final  paper  of  the  evening  was  read  by  the  Rev.  David  Waters,  L.L.D.,  of 
Newark,  on  ‘  ‘  The  Special  Claims  of  Domestic  Missions,  ”  and  it  was  very  heartily 
responded  to  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Oemiston. 

A  stirring  address  was  delivered  by  Mr.  Livingston  L.  Taylor,  of  the  Theo¬ 
logical  Seminary  at  New  Brunswick,  pledging  the  services  of  a  consecrated 
band  for  hard  work. 

The  farewell  address  was  delivered  by  Rev.  Dr.  W.  J.  R.  Taylor,  of  New¬ 
ark.  A  final  prayer  by  Dr.  A.  R.  Van  Nest,  and  the  Benediction  by  the  Rev. 
W.  H.  Clark;,  closed  the  Convention. 


ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME. 


By  Rev.  W.  H.  GLEASON,  D.  D. 


Mr.  President,  Delegates  and  Friends  : — 

In  behalf  of  this  church  and  our  denomination  in  this  city,  it  becomes  my 
duty  and  privilege  to  welcome  you  here. 

We  greet  you /or  what  you  are — brethren  known  and  honored  in  every  field 
of  Christian  work. 

We  greet  you /or  what  you  represent — the  right  wing  of  our  Reformed  army, 
consecrated  by  its  glorious  mission  in  the  past  and  to  its  more  glorious  mission 
in  the  future. 

We  greet  you  for  what  you  bring  with  you — hearts  of  devotion,  thoughts  of 
wisdom,  words  of  counsel  and  of  cheer. 

We  greet  you /or  what  you  shall  lea,ve  with  us — the  personal  influence  of  your 
presence,  and  the  permanent  effect  of  your  deliberation  and  work. 

Thus  we  welcome  you  to  this  church,  so  closely  identified  in  its  origin  and 
history  with  the  cause  you  have  met  to  promote.  In  a  few  months  it  too  shall 
celebrate  its  jubilee  year.  It  gave  its  first  pastor  to  engage  in  your  service.  It 
has  been  both  child  and  parent  of  missions,  fostered  by  you  in  its  infancy  and 
weakness,  fostering  you  and  your  beneficiaries  in  its  maturity  and  enlargement. 
It  stands  to-day,  “  mater  pulchra  filia  pulchriorf  the  fair  mother  of  even  fairer 
children. 

We  welcome  you  to  this  city,  to  whose  prosperity  and  progress  our  denomina¬ 
tion  has  contributed  no  small  share,  and  where  that  denomination  enjoys  the 
confidence  and  respect  of  all  of  every  name. 

We  welcome  you  to  the  associations  and  intimacies  of  our  homes,  whose  hos¬ 
pitalities,  we  trust,  will  enable  you  to  thank  God  and  take  courage,  because  of 
the  new  ties  that  shall  bind  your  hearts  in  Christian  love. 

Above  all,  we  welcome  you  to  a  precious  communion  with  the  Spirit  of  all 
grace.  May  He  dwell  richly  in  each  heart  and  in  this  assembly,  in  His  name 
convened.  May  He  guide  you  in  your  determination  so  that  in  all  things  you 
may  be  able  to  say  “It  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Ghost  and  to  us.”  May  our 
churches  be  instructed  and  inspired  by  what  shall  here  be  said  and  done.  May 
our  missionaries  have  the  weak  hands  strengthened  and  the  feeble  knees  con¬ 
firmed.  May  the  Mission  Cause  receive  a  new  and  permanent  impulse.  May 


6 


thereby  more  fully  God’s  kingdom  come  and  His  will  be  done.  Then  shall  this 
meeting  and  greeting  not  be  in  vain,  and  then  shall  the  work  of  our  hands  be 
established  upon  us — which  may  God  grant,  and  to  His  name  be  all  the  glory. 
Amen. 

m 

Dr.  Oemiston,  as  President  of  the  General  Synod,  was  called  upon  to  respond 
to  the  address  of  welcome.  In  substance  he  spoke  as  follows  : 

Mr.  President : — 

I  cannot  but  regard  this  as  one  of  the  felicitous  events  of  a  very  highly  favor¬ 
ed  life,  to  be  called  upon  to  respond  to  such  an  address,  so  full  of  genial  Chris¬ 
tian  sentiment,  and  cordial,  kindly  hospitality,  and  which  has  made  us  all  feel 
that  we  are  at  home  and  among  brethren  ;  and  on  an  occasion  of  such  intense  in¬ 
terest  and  momentous  importance  to  our  entire  Church,,  her  growth,  her  work, 
and  her  glory. 

I  rejoice  that  we  meet  in  the  city  of  Newark,  on  the  banks  of  the  Passaic. 
It  is  a  fitting  place  for  such  a  Convention.  As  we  pass  through  her  streets  our 
spirits  are  stirred  by  a  kind  of  mercantile  melody — an  anthem  of  energy,  earn¬ 
estness  and  enterprise,  formed  by  the  stroke  of  her  hammers,  the  ring  of  her 
anvils,  the  whistle  of  her  engines,  the  whir  of  her  spindles,  and  the  hum  of  her 
hives  of  industry,  which  lift  her  to  a  pre-eminent  position  in  the  State  and  give 
her  a  high  place  among  the  manufacturing  cities  of  the  Union. 

It  is  also  as  delightf  ul  as  it  is  fitting,  that  we  meet  in  a  church  which  will  soon 
celebrate  its  Jubilee  anniversary.  Scarcely  fifty  years  ago  it  was  the  only  Re¬ 
formed  church  in  the  city ;  now  there  are  six,  all  vigorous,  prosperous  and 
active,  healthful,  hopeful  and  helpful.  The  •mother,  not  yet  venerable,  has 
good  reason  to  be  proud  of  her  numerous  family  of  fair  and  happily  settled 
daughters. 

This  meeting  is  a  Jubilee  festival,  an  occasion  for  grateful  retrospection  and 
joyous  thanksgiving.  In  view  of  all  God’s  goodness  to  our  fathers  and  to  their 
children  ;  in  view  of  all  His  loving  kindness  graciously  vouchsafed  to  our  an¬ 
cient  Church  during  the  last  half  century,  our  hearts  are  glad,  and  we  are  here 
to  rejoice  together,  thank  God,  and  take  courage.  But  it  behooves  us  to  be 
solemn  as  well  as  hilarious.  In  considering  the  great  question  of  missions,  we 
enter  into  the  counsels  of  the  Eternal  God,  our  Heavenly  Father— the  divine 
purposes  of  grace  and  mercy  towards  a  lost  world ;  we  listen  to  the  last  solemn 
and  authoritative  injunction  of  our  risen  and  empowered  Redeemer,  “  Go  into 
all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.”  This  great  Convention, 
assembled  at  the  call  of  our  General  Synod,  will  be  a  failure  if  it  does  not  cherish 
in  each  one  of  us  the  heart  and  mind  of  Christ,  self-denying,  unwearying,  de¬ 
voted,  self-sacrificing.  Our  privileges  and  opportunities  are  prolonged  and 
multiplied ;  notwithstanding  our  long  continued  forgetfulness  of  the  divine 
commission,  and  our  criminal,  selfish  neglect  of  our  brother’s  weal,  God  still 
forbears  and  is  waiting,  reaching  forth  the  hand  of  Benediction,  and  sounding 
into  our  ears  with  authority,  “  Go  preach  My  Gospel.”  That  word  is  as  fresh 
and  forceful  now  as  when  it  first  fell  from  the  lips  of  Jesus ;  and  it  must  be 
sounded  through  this  Convention  until  each  heart  responds.  Here  am  I,  Lord, 
send  me,  I  will  go.  The  voices  of  our  brethren  from  all  parts  of  our  laud,  who 


7 


are  constrained  to  spend  silent  Sabbaths,  who  have  not  their  wonted  means  of 
grace,  who  hear  not  the  sound  of  the  church-going  bell,  who  have  not  the  privi¬ 
leges  and  ordinances  of  God’s  house,  come  to  our  ears  with  plaintive,  pleading, 
potent  power,  and  say  in  accents  which  cannot  be  denied,  “  Come  over  and 
help  us,”  and  we  unitedly  and  cheerfully  say.  We  come.  The  weight  of  the  Mas¬ 
ter’s  authority,  gratitude  for  our  own  precious  advantages,  and  deep,  tender  sym¬ 
pathy  with  the  needs  and  claims  of  our  brethren,  our  fellow-citizens,  our  kins¬ 
men,  according  to  the  flesh,  all  unite  in  stimulating  us  to  earnest,  high  and  holy 
endeavor,  to  future  grander  and  more  heroic  service.  Our  motto  is,  the  world 
— specially  our  own  land,  the  whole  land — for  Christ. 

Gathering  inspiration  from  above,  from  around,  from  the  past  and  from  the 
future,  we  come  together  not  merely  to  congratulate  each  other,  or  rest  on 
laurels  already  won,  not  even  simply  to  bewail  the  errors  and  failures  of  the 
past,  but  to  take  an  enlightened  view  of  the  fields  yet  to  be  possessed,  to 
strengthen  and  inspire  each  other  with  zeal  and  courage  to  prosecute  the  work 
with  freshened  vigor,  enlarged  views,  more  ardent  hopes,  more  dauntless  cour¬ 
age,  more  unflinching  self-denial,  and  a  loftier  consecration.  We  will  not  rest, 
neither  be  weary  until  our  entire  land  owns  for  its  sovereign  ruler  and  rightful 
sovereign  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

In  the  name  of  the  General  Synod,  in  the  name  of  this  large  Convention,  we 
thank  the  brethren  of  Newark  for  their  generous  reception — it  is  just  like  them. 
Many  of  us  have  already  tested  the  coziness  of  their  inglesides,  the  largeness  of 
their  hearts,  and  the  boundlessness  of  their  hospitalities.  We  also  thank  him 
who  has  given  so  winning  and  constraining  a  form  to  their  welcome.  May  they 
and  he  alike  receive  a  welcome  and  a  reward  in  that  day  for  their  kindness  to 
us  to-day. 


The  Past  and  Future  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 

Home  Missionary  Work. 


By  Rev.  EDWARD  W.  BENTLEY,  D  D. 


The  Reformed  Church  has  always  been  a  Missionary  Church.  To  a  great  ex¬ 
tent  she  has  caught  and  applied  the  Master’s  command,  “  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.”  To  this  fact  must  be  accredited 
her  own  position  and  extension  in  this  Western  world.  Our  forefathers  could 
not  come  without  bringing,  nor  could  they  remain  without  extending  its  bounds, 
and  yet  they  were  natural  even  in  church  building.  They  did  nothing  furiously, 
pushed  nothing  to  an  extreme.  The  Church  spread  as  thej^  spread.  As  fast  as 
they  gained  a  permanent  foothold  they  planted  the  Church.  And  each  church 
became  a  centre  for  a  missionary  influence.  Each  church  had  its  neighbors,  who 
also,  sooner  or  later,  aspired  to  an  independent  church  life.  And  to  achieve 
this  they  needed  help  from  those  already  established.  And  they  had  but  to 
prove  their  necessity  to  find  relief.  True,  our  Reformed  Church  has  always 
been  conservative,  sometimes  too  much  so.  Her  theory  has  always  been,  better 
one  large  and  strong  church  than  two  weak  and  feeble,  and  in  conformity  with 
this  belief  they  often  took  more  than  a  Sabbath  day’s  journey  to  reach  their 
place  of  worship.  Willing  to  do  this  themselves,  they  demanded  the  same  will¬ 
ingness  on  the  part  of  others.  But  as  soon  as  they  recognized  the  justice  of  aid 
they  were  prompt  to  bestow  it.  Hence,  as  their  population  spread  t*he  number 
of  churches  increased.  The  larger  churches  were  divided  and  the  smaller 
churches  grew  strong  and  vigorous. 

Nor  was  this  all.  No  sooner  was  the  pressure  of  necessity  taken  from  their 
own  shoulders  than  the  Reformed  Church  began  to  think  of  others.  Their  In¬ 
dian  neighbors  began  to  attract  their  attention,  and  as  early  as  1643,  preceding 
by  several  years  John  Eliot  in  Massachusetts,  Rev.  Joannes  Megapolensis  was 
holding  regular  services  among  the  Mohawks,  many  of  whom  united  with  his 
church  at  Albany.  And  so  in  many  localities  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey, 
tradition  relates  that  the  Indians  were  ministered  to  by  our  Reformed  Church 
pastors.  This  w^as  in  fact  “  Home  Missionary”  labor.  It  was  touching  with 
the  finger  of  the  Gospel  those  whom  God  had  made  our  neighbors.  And  the 
work  thus  begun  was  followed  up.  In  or  about  1700  Rev.  Bernardus  Freeman,  a 


9 


pastor  of  the  Reformed  Church  at  Schenectady,  reported  to  the  English  “  Society 
for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts”  something  of  the  success  of  his 
work  in  behalf  of  the  Mohawks.  Some  of  his  translations  into  the  Mohawk 
tongue  were  printed  in  New  York  in  1713.  In  1776  the  New  York  Missionary 
Society  was  formed,  in  which  the  Reformed  Church  took  an  active  place. 
This,  though  not  ostensibly  a  Home  Missionary  organization,  did  a  large  and 
successful  work  among  the  Indians.  It  sent  a  Missionary  to  the  Choctaws  in 
Georgia,  granted  aid  to  Rev.  John  Sergeant,  in  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  and  also  to 
that  noble  African,  Paul  Cuffee,  in  his  ministry  among  the  Indians  on  Lono- 
Island. 

In  1797  the  Northern  Missionary  Society,  which  had  its  headquarters  at 
Albany,  was  formed  by  a  union  of  the  same  denominations  as  composed  the 
New  York  Society.  Its  work  was  chiefly,  if  not  entirely  conflned  to  the  In¬ 
dians  of  Central  and  Western  New  York,  and  yielded  encouraging  returns. 

In  1786  the  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Church,  moved  by  the  appeals  for  aid  in 
Church  extension  within  its  own  borders,  appointed  a  committee  “  to  devise 
some  plan  for  sending  the  Gospel  to  destitute  localities,  and  to  report  at  the  next 
session.”  In  1788  this  committee  recommended  the  taking  of  contributions  in 
all  the  churches.  This  was  the  distinctive  beginning  of  Home  Missions  in  our 
Church.  With  the  means  thus  provided  the  several  Classes  were  able  to  send 
out  ministers  and  licenciates  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  various  directions. 

In  1789  the  Synod  directed  the  Classis  of  New  Brunswick  to  ordain  and  send 
as  a  Missionary  to  Hardy  county,  West  Virginia,  Rev.  Jacob  Jennings,  who 
had  for  several  years  been  practicing  medicine,  and  exhorting  and  catechising 
among  the  destitute  settlements  on  the  head-waters  of  the  Potomac.  The  sub¬ 
ject  of  Church  extension,  as  early  as  1790,  became  an  item  of  regular  business 
in  all  the  Classes. 

In  1791  General  Synod  made  its  Deputati  Synodi  a  Committee  on  Church  Ex¬ 
tension,  which  arrangement  w’as  broken  up  two  years  later  by  the  reorganiza¬ 
tion  of  General  Synod. 

In  1792  Rev.  Robert  Gray,  of  Poughkeepsie,  undertook  a  preaching  tour  of 
six  weeks’  duration  along  the  Susquehanna,  and  during  a  few  subsequent  years 
such  excursions  were  continued  by  other  ministers. 

In  1794  Rev.  John  Cornelison  organized  our  first  Home  Missionary  Church  at 
Tioga,  in  the  Chenango  Valley. 

From  1790  to  1796  the  people  of  Mercer  county,  Kentucky,  stimulated,  doubt¬ 
less,  by  the  success  of  Rev.  Mr.  Jennings  in  West  Virginia,  had  been  sending  up 
annual  cries  for  help  to  the  General  Synod.  In  this  later  year  Peter  Labaugh, 
a  theological  student,  volunteered  to  visit  them,  and  the  Synod  directed  the 
Classis  of  Hackensack  to  ordain  him  and  send  him  out  as  their  Missionary.  He 
organized  a  church  at  Salt  River,  in  Mercer  county,  but  finally  concluded  not  to 
remain  as  its  pastor. 

In  1798  the  Classis  of  Albany  sent  Robert  McDowell  to  Canada,  who  itinerated 
along  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario  and  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  for  a  distance  of 
300  miles.  He  organized  six  large  churches,  and  in  1800  he  became  the  settled 
pastor  of  three  of  them.  Subsequently  three  of  our  ministers  were  sent  upon 
preaching  tours  to  this  same  field.  This  work  was  continued  under  the  super- 


10 


vision  of  Synod’s  Committee  till  1819,  when  the  field  was  given  up  for  want  of 
means  to  support  it. 

Meanwhile  calls  for  help  for  the  home  field  were  multiplied.  The  Synod, 
with  a  view  of  meeting  these,  transferred  its  standing  Committee  of  Missions 
from  Albany  to  New  York,  and  gave  permission  for  missionary  work  elsewhere 
in  the  States.  Fields  immediately  opened  up  in  Herkimer,  Fulton,  Schoharie, 
Saratoga  and  Warren  counties.  New  York  ;  in  Sussex,  New  Jersey,  and  in  Pike 
county,  Penn.  A  church  was  organized  at  Spotswood.  Work  was  also  done 
in  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  and  at  Stillwater  in  New  Jersey.  In  1822  the 
Missionary  Society  of  the  R.  D.  Church  was  organized,  and  its  Board  of  Man¬ 
agers  was  made  Synod’s  standing  Committee  on  Missions.  This  society  was 
the  beginning  of  new  life,  and  during  the  ten  years  of  its  existence  collected 
more  than  $30,000,  and  aided  about  100  churches  or  stations,  and  130  mission¬ 
aries. 

Meanwhile  the  Church  made  but  halting  progress.  The  work  was  new  and 
*  the  Church  was  compelled  to  feel  its  way.  It  seemed  to  be  moving  more  by 
impulse  than  by  intelligent  principle.  In  the  main  it  did  its  work  piecemeal 
through  local  committees  and  by  special  contributions.  It  had  not  reached  the 
point  of  combining  its  energies,  of  compacting  and  centralizing  its  agencies, 
and  bringing  them  all  to  depend  upon  a  common  treasury,  and  to  aim  at  a  com¬ 
mon  result.  And  this  multiplication  of  committees  and  agents,  and  these  di¬ 
versities  of  methods  led  to  misunderstandings  and  complaints.  One  portion  of 
the  Church  was  jealous  of  another.  One  association  found  fault  with  another. 
Synod  made  successive  changes,  and  in  1831  changed  the  basis  of  all  the  opera¬ 
tions  by  constituting  the  Board  of  Missions,  and  in  1832  the  Board  of  Domestic 
Missions  of  General  Synod  was  formally  organized. 

In  1837  the  first  church  of  the  denomination  was  organized  in  the  great  West, 
at  Fairview,  Illinois.  This  was  followed  by  other  churches  in  Michigan,  Illi¬ 
nois  and  Wisconsin.  So  that  in  four  years  the  Classes  of  Michigan  and  Wis¬ 
consin  were  added  to  the  Church. 

In  1846  began  the  great  immigration  from  Holland  which  was  destined  to 
give  to  our  domestic  work  a  new  impetus  and  a  wider  field.  Driven  from  home 
by  a  religious  persecution,  combined  with  the  pressure  of  material  want,  these 
Hollanders  came  over  and  settled  in  Western  Michigan,  bringing  with  them 
their  churches  founded  upon  the  same  Biblical  standards  which  lay  underneath 
our  own.  Very  soon  they  recognized  their  need  of  sympathy,  fellowship  and 
material  aid.  Their  emigrants  in  many  localities  were  scattered,  ignorant  of 
our  language,  destitute  of  preachers,  whom  they  were  unable  either  to  procure 
from  abroad  or  to  prepare  upon  the  spot,  and  yet  pressed  upon  by  the  need  of 
having  their  Church  life  organized  and  rendered  secure.  Facts  of  this  nature 
inclined  their  leaders  to  look  favorably  toward  our  Reformed  Church  already 
established  and  prosperous  here.  This  feeling  was  promoted  by  the  friendly 
overtures  of  General  Synod.  In  1850  the  matter  of  union  was  brought  up  in 
General  Synod,  which  took  the  Classis  of  Holland  under  its  care  and  placed  it 
in  ecclesiastical  relation  with  the  Classis  of  Albany.  In  1851  the  Classis  of 
Holland  was  organized,  and  since  then  our  work  among  the  Hollanders  has 
grown  to  wide  dimensions.  Many  of  their  churches  have  become  strong  and 


11 


self-sustaining,  and  new  ones  have  been  formed  and  supplied  with  the  preached 
Word.  In  all  ways  has  the  Church  exerted  its  wisdom  and  energy  in  helping 
them  on,  and  they  on  their  part  have  seemed  to  consent  loyally  and  with  confi¬ 
dence  to  the  Church’s  exertion  and  rule. 

The  German  immigration  has  also  shared  in  our  sympathy  and  assistance. 
Nearly  all  of  our  Eastern  Classes  have  had  more  or  less  to  do  in  aiding,  encour¬ 
aging  and  directing  this  “  feeble  folk  ”  to  stand  upon  their  feet  and  take  care  of 
themselves.  We  have  now  some  thirty-five  of  these  churches  on  our  list,  all  of 
whom  have  been  aided  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  by  our  Domestic  Missionary 
funds. 

During  the  past  year  we  have  aided  at  the  East  41  churches,  2,241  families, 
and  3,481  members  ;  at  the  West,  37  churches,  1,836  families,  and  2,498  mem¬ 
bers  ;  making  a  total  of  78  churches,  4,077  families,  5,979  members. 

Our  collections  for  Domestic  Missionary  purposes  from  all  sources  were 
$29,030.01  ;  and  our  total  expenditures  were  $23,640.30. 

An  essential  adjunct  of  our  Home  Missionary  work  is  our  Church  Building 
Fund.  This  originated  by  an  act  of  General  Synod  in  the  year  1862,  and  from 
the  first  was  so  hedged  around  by  safe  limitations  that  it  could  not  well  be  per¬ 
verted.  And  this,  I  say,  is  an  essential  adjunct  of  our  Home  Missionary  work. 
Our  denomination  is  small,  and  is  not  given  to  any  extensive  emigration  in  a 
compact  form.  Hence,  in  none  of  our  new  settlements,  save  those  of  the  Hol¬ 
landers,  can  we  find  the  nucleus  of  a  church  ready  to  combine  and  organize 
upon  a  Reformed  basis. 

In  almost  every  initial  attempt  at  church  building  in  the  West  you  will  find 
enough  of  Congregationalists,  or  of  Presbyterians,  or  of  Methodists,  who  are 
ready  to  join  hands  in  starting  an  enterprise  with  which  they  are  already  ac¬ 
quainted  and  whose  advantages  they  have  previously  experienced.  But  our 
Church  is  not  thus  favorably  known.  Our  order,  our  polity,  our  soundness  in 
the  faith,  our  persistent  adherence  to  the  Word  of  God;  are  not  generally  under¬ 
stood.  Hence,  to  win  men  to  our  fold,  to  build  up  the  Reformed  Church,  we 
must  show  them  our  work  in  its  actual  operation  ;  we  must  place  a  church  in 
the  midst  of  them,  and  invite  them  to  hear  the  Gospel  as  we  preach  it.  When 
we  have  once  pursuaded  them  to  sit  in  our  pev;s,  to  join  in  our  songs  of  praise, 
to  listen  to  the  truth  as  we  hold  and  teach  it,  the  most  difficult  part  of  our  task 
is  done.  Time  was  when,  could  I  have  compassed  a  church  building  in  Omaha, 
I  would  gladly  have  undertaken  to  build  up  a  Reformed  Church  in  that  city, 
and  should  have  had  no  fears  for  the  result. 

But  this  aside,  our  Church  Building  Fund  is  essential,  wherever  men  strug¬ 
gling  with  poverty,  hard  pushed  to  find  bread  for  their  homes,  are  striving  to 
erect  a  house  of  worship.  Natural  sympathy  combines  with  Christian  duty  to 
enlist  our  endeavors.  We  look  first  at  the  benevolence  of  such  aid,  and  the 
thankfulness  with  which  it  is  received,  and  then  forward  to  the  not  remote  fu¬ 
ture  when  the  Church  thus  assisted  shall  be  itself  assisting  others.  It  is  sow¬ 
ing  the  seed  of  a  perennial  harvest.  Give  us  a  church  building  fund  at  all  pro¬ 
portioned  to  our  work,  at  all  adequate  to  our  necessities,  and  we  can  go  on  our 
way  with  uplifted  heads.  Our  fund  now  amounts  to  some  $65,000,  which  has 
been  put  to  use  as  fast  as  collected,  and  the  major  part  of  it  has  had  from  the 


> 


12 


first  a  specific  direction.  We  ought  to  have  at  least  a  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
the  income  of  which  shall  be  constantly  available. 

And  now,  with  this  rapid  review  of  the  past,  let  us  look  forward.  If  we  are 
asked,  as  many  have  asked,  “  Cui  honof  we  have  something  to  say.  Many 
looking  upon  us  and  our  work  have  said  :  ‘  ‘  Why  continue  it  ?  It  is  but  a  drop 
in  the  ocean.  You  are  but  a  small  denomination,  and  there  is  nothing  to  keep 
you  from  being  swallowed  up  by  others  whose  reputation  is  world- wide,  and 
whose  object  and  whose  composition  are  essentially  the  same  with  your  own. 
Y"ou  have  a  snug  position,  a  harmonious  membership,  a  desirable  location. 
Why  not  be  satisfied  with  that  ?  Why  add  yours  to  the  complication  of  boards, 
and  machinery,  and  men  that  are  trying  to  Christianize  the  land  ?  Why  should 
you,  the  least  and  the  weakest  of  all,  persist  in  trying  to  keep  step  with  the 
strong  tribes  going  up  to  possess  our  country  ?  Why  not  join  forces  and  stand 
in  line  with  them,  and  shout  your  cries  of  victory  at  last  with  theirs  ?”  Well, 
there  are  several  reasons.  First,  though  our  denomination  is  small,  we  think  it 
has  a  place,  and  a  right,  and  a  duty  with  the  largest,  bravest  and  most  showy 
of  all  the  denominations.  AVe  know  of  no  obligation  and  no  necessity  to  dis¬ 
solve  our  organization  and  unite  with  any  other. 

As  we  stand,  we  have  a  culture,  a  form,  an  outfit  to  which  we  are  accustomed, 
which  we  think  is  advantageous  and  right,  and  which  wins  us  favor  and  gives 
us  power  where  others,  or  ourselves  even,  would  fail  without  them.  We  have 
the  prestige  of  a  quiet,  advancing,  spiritual  life,  where  other  denominations 
have  been  convulsed  and  torn.  We  have  preached  Christ  and  ministered  His 
ordinances,  while  other  denominations  have  been  scolding  and  disputing.  We 
have  tried  to  leave  mere  worldly  plans  and  interests  alone,  and  to  bend  our  en¬ 
ergies  to  the  Master’s  work. 

And  if  we  have  not  done  everything  as  well,  we  have,  as  we  think,  done 
some  things  better  than  those  around  us.  And  hence,  in  our  past  record  we 
find  nothing  to  discourage  us  from  maintaining  our  organization,  and  going  up 
as  one  of  the  tribes  of  our  American  Israel.  And  then,  secondly,  we  have  this 
to  say  :  What  we  have  been  we  expect  to  be  ;  we  do  not  propose  to  change. 
AVe  have  tested  and  proved  our  faith,  and  are  content  with  all  its  unfoldings. 
It  is  the  old  faith  of  the  Christian  Church,  the  faith  that  God  is  just,  that  man 
is  a  sinner,  that  to  satisfy  God’s  righteous  justice,  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  came 
in  man’s  likeness,  took  man’s  place  beneath  the  law,  suifered  and  died  in  man’s 
stead. 

It  is  the  faith  that  they  who  are  saved  grow  up  into  Christ’s  likeness,  and  are 
justified  on  the  ground  of  His  righteousness. 

We  hold  that  the  Word  of  God,  contained  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  was  so  communicated  to  inspired  men  that  they  wrote  it  as  they 
received  it,  so  that,  adding  nothing  to  it,  and  taking  nothing  from  it,  that  Bible 
is  now  man’s  infallible  guide  of  faith  and  practice.  And  further,  we  believe 
that  as  man  shall  live  or  die,  so  also  shall  God  find  and  judge  him  at  the  end  of 
the  world. 

Our  faith  is  in  fact  the  same  faith  which  we  have  drawn  from  our  Bibles, 
the  same  faith  which  has  made  us  acquainted  with  God,  which  has  convinced 
us  of  our  sin  and  misery,  which  has  told  us  of  God’s  great  love  to  us,  and 


13 


His  wondrous  sacrifice  for  us,  which  has  assured  us  of  forgiven  sin,  and  in¬ 
spired  us  with  bright  hopes  of  heavenly  glory.  It  is  the  same  faith  which  has 
held  us  when  sinking,  which  has  lifted  us  when  falling,  which  has  given  us 
courage  in  the  forlornest  crises  of  life,  which  has  changed  the  impossible  into 
the  actual,  and  made  earth  a  stepping-stone  to  heaven.  It  is  the  same  faith 
which  multitudes  of  our  fellow-men,  living,  have  trusted  in,  and  dying  have 
rested  upon.  The  same  faith  which  has  rendered  their  lives  glorious  and  their 
death  triumphant. 

We  have  no  commission  to  judge  God  from  a  human  point  of  view.  We  have 
no  authority  to  apologize  for  any  of  the  mysteries  with  which  He  wraps  Himself, 
nor  to  explain  any  of  His  enactments  from  which  He  has  not  withdrawn  ihe 
cover. 

We  believe  that  without  our  aid  He  is  perfect,  and  that  when  His  hour  comes 
He  will  justify  all  His  ways. 

And  being  content  to  hold  these  views,  we  propose  to  hold  them  unchanged. 
To  any  one  of  our  ministers  holding  a  belief  discordant  with  these,  we  have 
simply  to  say  :  “  The  world  is  wide,  you  may  hold  what  views  you  please,  but 
you  must  go  without  the  bounds  of  the  Reformed  Church  to  do  it.  The  formula 
which  you  signed  on  your  entrance  to  your  ministry  with  us  is  a  sacred  compact, 
and  your  change  in  doctrine  now  gives  it  force.  ” 

And  thus  our  work  of  purification  is  done.  The  holder  of  the  new  faith  goes 
forth  to  seek  fellowship  where  he  may,  and  leaves  us  to  go  on  our  way  untram¬ 
melled. 

This  is  a  process  which  we  have  gone  through  with  more  than  once  without 
noise  or  confusion,  and  we  can  do  it  again.  We  have  no  thought  of  suffering 
our  Reformed  Church  to  become  unrebuked  the  nesting-place  of  “  Ists  and 
Isms.”  Our  sense  of  responsibility  is  too  great,  our  work  too  serious,  a  place 
in  our  ministry  too  solemn  for  such  idle  and  useless  speculations.  We  care  not 
to  go  without  a  “  Thus-saith-the-Lord  ”  behind  us.  We  have  no  philosophical 
theories  to  broach,  no  sphere  of  recondite  study  to  exhibit,  and  no  rage  to  be 
thought  learned,  or  daring,  or  original,  to  gratify. 

On  the  contrary,  that  series  of  divine  truths  which  our  fathers  formulated  and 
proved,  which  has  come  down  to  us  bearing  the  indorsement  of  Luther,  and 
Calvin,  and  Zwinglius,  and  Knox,  which  has  received  the  indorsements  of 
synods,  and  councils,  and  churches,  for  which  Christian  heroes  have  contended 
and  martyrs  have  died,  truths  which  have  nourished  the  living  hearts  and  dy¬ 
ing  experiences  of  the  noblest  of  the  earth — these  truths,  I  say,  are  enough 
for  us. 

Nor  from  this  statement  let  any  one  infer  that  our  ministry  is  less  learned, 
less  studious,  less  familiar  with  the  entire  range  of  theological  verities  and  specu¬ 
lative  truths  than  their  neighbors  about  them. 

They  are  as  devout,  as  thoughtful,  as  open  to  the  reception  of  new  truths, 
and  new  views  of  truth  which  pertain  to  the  glory  of  God,  or  the  welfare  of 
man,  as  any  others.  And  it  always  has  been  so.  From  the  Reformation  down¬ 
ward  they  have  been  recognized  for  their  acuteness,  their  genius,  their  broad, 
firm  grasp  of  Scriptural,  polemic  and  expository  thought.  In  all  crises  they  have 
Stood  manfully  and  intelligently  by  the  standards,  they  have  dealt  vigorous  blows 


14 


in  defence  of  the  faith,  and  have  made  full  proof  of  their  ministry  as  servants 
of  Christ. 

And  holding  these  truths,  and  proposing  still  to  hold  them,  we  think  there  is 
place  and  room  for  us  among  the  hosts  going  up  to  evangelize  our  land.  We 
think  there  are  multitudes  who  have  only  to  know  us  to  appreciate  us.  Thou¬ 
sands  who  know  nothing  and  care  less  about  various  “  winds  of  doctrine,”  still 
do  care  whether  Christ  can  forgive  their  sins,  and  heal  their  souls,  and  fit  them 
for  heaven.  And  to  such  we  mean  to  tell  the  story  of  the  Cross,  with  all  it  sig¬ 
nifies  of  life  and  glory.  This  is  our  errand,  and  to  such  do  we  propose  to  con¬ 
vey  it. 

Thirdly — We  are  well  equipped  to  do  this  work.  The  spirit  of  intelligence  is 
abroad  among  our  people.  Our  schools  have  a  high  standard  and  are  multiply¬ 
ing  in  all  our  centres  of  population  and  infiuence.  Of  our  colleges  we  scarcely 
need  to  speak,  Rutgers  has  won  a  renown  of  which  we  are  not  ashamed.  Its 
part  is  pre-eminently  honorable,  and  over  its  future  there  hangs  no  cloud.  Hope 
College  is  emerging  from  the  struggles  which,  in  common  with  all  other  insti¬ 
tutions  of  its  kind,  have  hindered  its  progress  into  the  light  of  a  brilliant  day. 
Its  work  thus  far,  with  all  its  discouragements,  has  been  nobly  done,  and  it 
looks  to  the  future  with  promise  and  hope.  In  provision  for  theological  in¬ 
struction  we  are  abreast  of  the  foremost.  Our  New  Brunswick  Seminary  is 
amply  endowed,  and  it  is  able  to  respond  to  all  the  demands  of  the  years  to 
come. 

Looking  to  her  past,  “  to  name  her  is  to  praise,”  and  we  know  her  future  will 
not  belie  her  past,  and  it  is  the  earnest  intention  of  the  Church  to  place  a  like 
equipment  at  the  earliest  possible  period  at  the  West.  The  withdrawal  of  theol¬ 
ogy  from  Hope  College  was  the  result  of  a  necessity  now  fast  passing,  if  it  has 
not  already  passed  away. 

And  our  Board  of  Education  has  facilities  adequate  for  sustaining  both  these 
institutions  to  their  fullest  extent. 

Or,  if  she  has  not  the  funds  in  hand  she  knows  where  to  find  them.  The  Re¬ 
formed  Church  has  never  been  niggardly  in  providing  for  her  beneficiaries, 
and  the  possession  of  such  appliances  as  these  but  strengthens  our  desire  and 
confirms  our  purpose  to  go  forward. 

And  lastly,  we  plead  Christ’s  own  command.  His  commission  rings  in  our 
ears  and  lies  deep  within  our  hearts.  This  land,  with  all  its  unequalled  resources 
belongs  to  Him,  and  what  we  can  do  towards  making  it  His  must  be  and  shall 
be  done. 

To  this  end  are  we  organized,  and  to  this  end  do  we  propose  to  work  on,  and 
fight  on,  and  struggle  on.  For  Him  do  we  labor,  and  in  Him  do  we  trust,  and 
by  and  by  the  glorious  end  shall  come.  By  and  by  He  Whose  right  it  is  shall 
reign  King  of  Nations  as  He  now  does  King  of  Saints. 


special  Work  of  tke  Reformed  Churcli  Among  the 

Hollanders  and  Germans. 


A  Paper  read  before  the  ‘‘^Domestic  Missionary  Conference^  held  at  NewarJct 

N.  J.,  November  8,  1882, 


By  Rev.  ABRAHAM  THOMPSON. 


I  gladly  avail  myself  of  the  invitation  of  the  committee  to  speak  concerning 
the  special  work  of  the  Reformed  Church  among  the  Hollanders  and  Germans 
in  this  country. 

At  an  early  day  the  connection  of  our  Church  with  the  Germans  was  close 
and  intimate,  and  many  of  our  older  churches  were  originally  German.  It  is 
only  recently,  however,  that  attention  has  been  turned,  to  any  considerable  ex¬ 
tent,  to  this  class  of  immigrants.  We  have  rather  left  them  to  the  Lutherans 
and  German  Reformed  Church.  That  there  is  opportunity  for  labor  among  this 
large  class  of  our  population  no  one  doubts.  I  do  not  feel  myself  competent, 
however,  to  present  their  claims  before  this  Conference,  nor  is  it  necessary,  in¬ 
asmuch  as  one — than  whom  no  one  is  more  competent — will  present  their  cause 
in  an  address  during  the  progress  of  this  meeting.  I  feel  that  it  will  be  doing  a 
favor  to  all  to  leave  this  part  of  the  subject  to  the  historical  knowledge,  the 
learning  and  eloquence  of  one  who  has  made  it  a  special  subject  of  study,  and 
whose  labors  in  that  line  have  been  abundant.  We  are  to  hear  from  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Mohn! 

Of  the  Hollanders  I  can  speak  from  personal  experience  and  observation. 
Thrown  among  them  as  instructor  in  Holland  Academy,  immediately  after 
graduation — and  then  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  my  ministerial  life  being  in 
daily  contact  with  them — it  would  be  strange  had  there  not  been  a  deep  and 
deepening  interest  in  their  welfare.  Their  language  was ‘mastered  in  their 
churches  under  such  men  as  Van  Raalte  and  Oggel,  and  in  their  private  re¬ 
ligious  assemblies.  Many  an  hour  have  I  been  stifled  with  their  tobacco  smoke, 
and  many  a  time  has  my  head  ached  over  their  long — very  long— discussions  of 
Bible  themes.  And  though,  proverbially,  a  Dutchman  may  not  be  able  to 


16 


“see  after  four  o’clock,”  yet  he  can  discern  points  of  theology  close  up  to  mid¬ 
night,  as  I  can  testify. 

A  ministerial  brother  said  recently,  “I  see  little  cause  for  2,  jubilee  in  our 
‘Domestic’  work.”  Perhaps  others  may  have  thought  so,  but  a  more  intimate 
study  of  the  past  will  dissipate  such  feelings.  The  present  always  has  its  roots 
in  the  past.  It  is  Ood,  as  Tvell  as  men,  that  makes  history.  This  Church,  in 
which  we  have  a  name,  is  His  more  than  it  is  ours.  Pie  has  had  more  to  do 
with  it  than  we  have.  Looking  at  the  past  we  wonder,  not  that  it  has  not  ex¬ 
tended,  but  that  it  exists.  Nothing  but  Dutch  stubbornness  could  have  held  it. 
Historical  circumstances  had  been  such  that  no  organization  of  all  our  churches 
for  united  work  was  possible  until  about  the  time  that  the  “Domestic  Board” 
came  into  existence.  Efforts  had  been  made,  but  they  were  individual  and 
desultory.  From  that  time  to  this  the  growth  and  extension  has  been  healthful, 
and  at  times  rapid.  Daring  the  period  1849  to  1859  one  hundred  and  fifty 
churches  were  organized.  Since  the  organization  of  the  Board  we  have  tripled 
the  number  of  our  ministers,  and  have  multiplied  our  churches  by  two  and  one- 
half. 

It  was  in  this,  the  period  of  our  greatest  expansion  at  home,  that  our  Foreign 
Board  undertook  its  separate  work,  and  the  attention  and  means  of  the  Church 
were  taxed  to  the  utmost  to  sustain  the  work  thus  providentially  thrown  upon 
the  Church.  But  with  that  work  well  established,  it  is  time  again  to  turn  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  work  at  our  own  doors.  Our  work  is  expanding  in  every  direction. 
The  future  has  great  things  in  store  for  us,  if  we  do  not  neglect  the  leadings  of 
God’s  Providence.  This  very  Conference — and  the  one  this  day  in  session  in 
Chicago — are  evidences  that  the  Church  is  asking  what  the  Lord  will  have  us  to 
do.  The  call  for  these  meetings  by  the  General  Synod  betokens  that  the  whole 
Church  is  ready  to  go  forward  where  the  Lord  shows  the  way.  That  call  of 
the  Synod  reads  :  “The  Church  needs  to  be  aroused.  Other  causes — worthy, 
important — have  dominated  the  mind  of  the  Church  and  overshadowed  the 
cause  of  Domestic  Missions.  Some  in  our  communion,  we  fear,  regard  our 
Church  as  chiefly  designed  by  Providence  to  care  for  the  Holland  brethren 
who  come  to  our  shores.  We  are  convinced  that  no  Church  can  ov  ought  to 
flourish  on  this  continent  whicii  limits  its  efforts  by  sectional  or  race  restrictions. 
We  welcome  tenderly  the  Plolland  immigrants,  but  we  should  also  aim  to  estab¬ 
lish  churches  among  all  who  are  destitute  of  the  means  of  grace  in  every  part 
of  the  republic  where  a  church  is  actually  needed.  By  loyalty  to  the  spirit  and 
genius  of  the  ancient  Church  whose  history  we  inherit,  by  every  indication  of 
of  God’s  Providence,  we  call  upon  our  people  to  make  this  Jubilee  year  a  year 
of  noble  enthusiasm,  substantial  giving,  and  solid,  progressive  labor  in  this  great 
cause !  ”  To  that  language  every  lover  of  the  Church  will  give  a  hearty  response. 
Not  wholly,  not  chiefly,  perhaps,  is  our  Church  designed  to  care  for  the  Hol¬ 
landers,  but  yet  largely  and  specially.  Providence  has  made  it  our  special  work. 

We  cannot  separate  ourselves  from  our  history.  Of  our  500  churches  now 
existing,  it  will  be  safe  .to  say  that  four-fifths  of  them  at  least  have  sprung 
almost  directly  from  those  originally  speaking  the  Holland  language.  The  in¬ 
stances  are  rare — exceedingly  rare — where  churches  have  been  organized  without 
a  nucleus  of  those  who  had  been  trained  in  these  churches.  And  where  such 


4 


17 


organizations  have  been  formed  they  have  usually  failed.  These  &xefactSy  not 
theories.  What  has  occurred  with  the  early  churches  in  this  region  will  occur 
in  the  Holland  churches  now  existing  in  this  country.  They  will  continue  to 
exist  and  to  send  off  branches,  and  gradually  they  will  become  English-speaking 
churches,  and  hold  the  ground  as  they  do  in  Somerset  county,  in  this  State. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  “every  creature;  ”  but 
she  must  not  fritter  away  her  efforts  and  resources  in  attempting  things  imprac¬ 
ticable.  Our  efforts  should  be  directed  wisely. 

Our  Church  has  limited  its  Foreign  Field  to  three  localities — in  China,  India 
and  Japan ;  but  not  all  the  heathen  are  found  in  these  countries.  While  en¬ 
deavoring  to  preach  to  “every  creature”  the  Church  yet  wisely  concentrates  its 
efforts,  believing  that  by  so  doing  the  greatest  good  will  be  accomplished.  In 
their  zeal  our  fathers  sent  ministers  to  Canada,  to  West  Virginia  and  Kentucky. 
Some  of  the  largest  and  most  flourishing  Presbyterian  congregations  in  Canada 
were  gathered  and  organized  by  missionaries  chiefly  from  tbe  Classis  of  Albany. 
It  was  a  good  work.  But  we  see  that  their  efforts  might  have  been  directed  more 
wisely.  There  were  waste  places  within  their  very  borders — there  were  whole 

V 

communities  allied  to  them  by  language,  by  contiguity,  by  acquaintanceship, 
who  were  neglected  or  left  to  others.  It  behooves  us  not  to  make  similar  mis¬ 
takes,  though  they  were  made  with  the  very  best  of  motives. 

The  Lord  has  sent  us  a  large  body  of  people  who  are  our  special  care.  They 
are  allied  to  us  by  race  (originally  by  language),  by  faith  and  polity.  Our 
Church  came  from  the  Netherlands — whence  these  people  come.  They  bear  to¬ 
day  the  same  names  which  stand  on  our  earliest  Church  rolls.  They  speak  the 
same  language  in  which  our  minutes  of  consistories,  classes  and  synods  were 
kept ;  a  language  which  has  never  ceased  to  be  spoken  in  some  parts  of  the 
Church,  and  a  language  in  which  some  of  the  ministers  could  always  preach. 

When  the  immigration  of  1847-49  was  poured  upon  our  shores,  it  was  not 
accidental  but  promdential  that  there  were  such  men  as  Drs.  Dewitt  and 
Wyckoff — ‘•^nomina  clara  et  'Generabilia" — to  meet  these  refugees  and  to  wel¬ 
come  them  in  their  own  language  to  this  land ;  men  that  could  tell  them  that 
here  was  the  Church  of  their  fathers,  the  Church  of  Dordrecht  and  Heidelbergh, 
holding  the  doctrines  in  their  purity,  doctrines  which  they  could  not  hear  in  the 
degenerate  Church  of  the  Fatherland.  Was  it  not  a  Providence  that  threw  these 
new-comers  under  the  influence  of  two  such  men — men  honored  and  revered  for 
their  worth  and  piety  by  all  the  Church — representative  men  of  the  Church  in 
America?  Sixty  thousand  of  this  people  are  probably  now  in  this  country. 
They  are  allied  to  us  in  faith.  They  belong  to  us,  and  with  us  by  their  confes¬ 
sions,  catechisms,  standards  and  theology.  They  have  been  fed  on  the  same 
doctrines  as  we  ourselves  have  been  fed  upon.  It  is  not  similar  doctrines  which 
they  might  have  learned  in  Scotland  or  Germany,  but  the  same  doctrines  pro¬ 
mulgated  at  Dort.  Not  similar  statements  from  Westminster,  but  the  same 
from  Heidelbergh.  Their  catechism  begins  not  with  “What  is  the  chief  end 
of  man?”  but  “What  is  thy  only  comfort  in  life  and  death?”  That  catechism 
they  have  learned — that  their  ministers  preach  without  any  mental  reservations. 
When  they  have  met  in  ecclesiastical  assemblies  in  their  own  land  they  have 
called  themselves  not  a  Session,  nor  Vestry,  nor  Council,  nor  Presbytery,  nor 


18 


House  of  Bishops,  nor  General  Assembly,  but  a  Church,  a  Consistory,  Classis, 
Synod,  names  familiar  to  them  and  to  U8.  They  need  learn  no  new  doctrines 
and  no  new  nomenclatures  with  us. 

Providentially  they  were  directed  to  us,  and  united  with  us  in  Church  fellow¬ 
ship.  They  form  to-day  one-eighth  of  our  membership,  and  comprise  nearly 
one-sixth  of  our  churches  (10,075  members  and  75  churches).  They  occupy  as 
much  territory  now  (probably)  as  was  occupied  by  the  Church  at  the  formation 
of  our  General  Synod,  and  have  about  three-fourths  the  number  of  churches. 
They  have  more  than  one-third  as  many  churches  as  were  in  the  denomination 
when  the  Domestic  Board  was  organized  (viz.,  75  churches — 204  in  1832). 

As  a  Church,  our  growth  has  been  limited  almost  exclusively  to  the  localities 
where  the  Hollanders  first  settled — New  York  and  New  Jersey,  the  Raritan,  Hud¬ 
son  and  the  Mohawk.  This  matter  is  worthy  serious  consideration  in  all  plans 
for  the  future.  We  learn  from  the  past.  Account  for  it  as  we  may,  we  have 
not  been  successful  on  a  large  scale  in  planting  churches  outside  these  limits. 

The  Classis  of  Illinois  was  organized  more  than  forty  years  ago,  and  to-day  it 
has  only  two  self-sustaining  English-speaking  churches,  and  they  were  formed 
by  large  colonies  from  our  churches  in  Somerset  county.  The  Classis  of  Michi¬ 
gan  was  formed  the  same  year,  and  its  record  is  scarcely  more  encouraging. 

I  offer  no  explanation — I  call  attention  only  to  facts.  The  Church  has  not 
grown  outside  the  limits  of  Holland  immigration.  That  it  cannot,  I  will  not 
venture  to  affirm  or  even  to  suggest.  But  I  do  say  that  all  its  past  history  shows 
that  where  the  Hollanders  settled,  there  has  been  its  growth  and  its  strength. 
These  colonies  of  Hollanders  who  have  settled  recently  in  our  country  have 
come  to  stay.  They  have  made  it  a  home  for  themselves  and  for  their  children. 
Most  of  them  have  united  with  our  Church,  and  they  mean  to  stay. 

The  people  who  came  twenty-five  and  thirty  years  ago  are  caring  for  them¬ 
selves  and  helping  their  fellow-countrymen.  No  better  investment  was  ever 
made  by  the  Domestic  Board  than  "when  it  sent  Drs.  Dewitt,  Wyckoff  and 
Garretson  to  confer  with  Van  Raalte,  Van  der  Meulen  and  others,  and  when 
they  gave  them  aid  to  erect  churches  and  support  ministers  in  the  wilds  of 
Michigan.  That  seed  has  brought  forth  some  sixty,  some  seventy,  and  some 
an  hundred  fold.  But  multitudes  more  are  now  coming;  the  same  good  work 
must  be  continued.  Eight  thousand  came  last  year,  and  the  number  will  be 
larger  the  current  year.  The  same  helping  hand  must  be  extended,  and  it  will 
be  with  like  precious  results. 

There  is  an  insufficient  number  of  ministers  to  supply  the  existing  churches. 
Those  now  arriving  come  usually  unattended  by  ministers.  There  is  the  same 
lack  from  which  our  Church  suffered  here  a  hundred  years  ago.  The  people 
arriving  cannot  build  their  churches.  Most  of  them  have  only  enough  to  get 
them  to  the  free  lands  of  the  Government  or  the  cheap  lands  in  the  Northwest. 
Now  is  the  time  they  need  help — in  the  beginning.  What  has  occurred  may  be 
reproduced  in  many  locations.  I  know  of  what  I  affirm.  I  have  been  in  the 
log  houses  which  served  for  ])laces  of  worship  in  the  forests  of  Michigan. 
Twelve  years  ago  I  preached  in  a  house  made  from  the  sods  of  the  prairies  in 
Iowa;  and  again,  three  months  ago,  I  stood  in  the  same  place,  and  looking 
round  about  could  see  four  church  buildings  which  this  Domestic  Board  has 


19 


helped  to  build — four  places  of  worship  where  seven  hundred  church  members 
and  a  population  of  three  thousand  people  regularly  worship. 

In  July  last  I  was  within  the  enclosure  of  the  First  Reformed  Church  of 
Dakota.  I  say  “enclosure,”  for  it  is  not  a  house.  It  sounds  large  to  say 
“First  Reformed  Church  of  Dakota” — “First  Newark,”  “First  Somerville,” 
“First  Kingston.”  How  would  it  sound  to  say,  “ First  Reformed  Church  of 
the  State  of  New  York?”  But  the  whole  State  of  New  York  could  be  put  into 
one  corner  of  Dakota,  and  leave  abundant  room  for  all  New  England  and  more. 

The  “  First  Reformed  Church  of  Dakota  ”  worships  in  an  “enclosure  ” — not  a 
house.  It  is  16x24  feet,  constructed  of  unplaned  boards,  placed  perpendicularly, 
with  a  board  roof ;  it  has  no  lining — no  walls — and  the  rudest  benches  for  seats. 
There  are  horse-sheds  about  our  churches  in  New  Jersey  and  New  York  which 
afford  better  protection  to  the  horses  against  cold  and  rain  than  does  this  enclos¬ 
ure  for  God’s  people.  The  whole  building  cost  seventy-five  dollars,  and  it  was  all 
that  these  settlers  could  do.  During  the  Winter  the  mercury  sinks  often  to  20 
and  25  degrees  below  zero,  and  yet  that  place  is  full  of  worshipers.  During 
the  Winter  of  1881-2  almost  the  only  fuel  used  in  their  assemblies,  and  in  their 
homes,  too,  was  the  prairie  grass  dried,  twisted  into  knots  or  balls,  and  then 
burned  in  stoves.  Think  of  going  to  church  under  such  circumstances — and 
yet  these  Holland  people  did  it  regularly. 

A  minister  left  a  comfortable  church  and  home  in  New  York  and  went  with 
his  wife  and  infant  daughter  to  that  frontier  of  our  Church.  The  wife  told  me 
cheerfully  the  story  of  their  experience. 

“Let  me,”  said  she,  “give  you  a  sarhple  of  our  fuel  during  that  Winter” — 
and  then  with  her  own  hands  she  twisted  this  knot  of  hay,  and  said  : 

“This  was  our  only  fuel  during  all  that  bitter  Winter,  and  I  learned  well 
how  to  prepare  it  for  the  ‘  stove.  ’  ” 

Build  churches — build  parsonages— support  ministers  under  such  circum¬ 
stances  !  Why,  these  new  settlers  must  struggle  for  simple  existence  for  them¬ 
selves  for  the  first  few  years.  Help  them  at  the  first — send  them  ministers — 
help  them  to  homes  for  their  ministers,  and  to  houses  of  worship,  as  our  Board 
is  doing  to  the  utmost  of  its  ability,  and  they  will  in  a  few  years  be  ready  to 
help  others ! 

Motley  calls  attention  repeatedly  to  the  zeal  of  the  Hollanders  for  education. 
That  same  spirit  has  ever  characterized  them,  and  also  their  descendants  in  this 
country.  We  know  what  strenuous  efforts  have  always  been  made  to  secure  an 
educated  ministry.  Many  know  with  what  faith,  and  patience,  and  sacrifice 
the  foundations  of  Rutgers  College  and  our  Theological  Seminary  were  laid. 
They  are  doing  the  work  for  which  they  were  designed.  But  our  borders  have 
expanded,  our  churches  are  by  the  Great  Lakes  and  beyond  the  “Father  of 
Waters.”  Hope  College  has  arisen  in  the  midst  of  our  churches  as  Queens 
College  did  a  hundred  years  ago.  What  Queens  College  did  for  the  churches 
here  so  must  Hope  College  do  for  our  churches  in  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Illinois 
and  Iowa.  It  was  a  long  strife  ere  the  churches  could  all  be  led  to  see  that  they 
never  would  be  supplied  with  ministers  if  they  were  to  depend  for  them  on 
Amsterdam ;  and  we  should  not  repeat  their  mistake  by  supposing  that  the 
churches  in  the  West  can  be  suflaciently  supplied  from  New  Brunswick.  To- 


20 


day  there  are  young  men  looking  forward  to  the  ministry  of  the  Reformed 
Church  whose  homes  are  fourteen  hundred  miles  west  of  this.  Shall  we  com¬ 
pel  them  to  go  so  far  from  their  homes  to  receive  their  education  as  our  fathers 
did  their  young  men  a  hundred  years  ago  ?  May  we  not  expect  rather  that  the 
young  men  of  our  Western  churches  will  seek  schools  of  the  prophets  among 
other  denominations  and  nearer  their  own  homes  ?  And  in  nine  cases  out  of 
ten  will  their  future  ministry  not  be  in  the  Church  which  educated  them  ?  Self- 
preservation  is  a  law  for  churches  as  well  as  for  individuals.  We  are  raising  up 
a  ministry  in  India,  in  China  and  Japan.  Shall  we  not  raise  up  a  ministry  in 
our  own  great  Northwest  ?  A  ministry  who  belong  to  the  region  ;  a  ministry 
to  serve  the  people  among  whom  they  have  been  born  and  raised  ;  a  ministry 
who  shall  preach  in  English,  Dutch  or  German,  as  may  be  required.  Not  a 
Dutch^  not  a  German,  but  an  American  ministry,  trained  to  serve  the  Dutch  and 
the  Germans  in  America,  on  American  soil,  and  themselves  and  their  children 
to  become  Americans. 

The  desire  for  thorough  Christian  education  in  the  principles  of  our  Reformed 
Church  has  taken  deep  root  among  the  Holland  churches.  At  its  last  session 
General  Synod  made  the  following  deliverance,  viz.  :  “Each  year  makes  it 
more  apparent  that  our  work  in  the  West  must  be  an  educational  work.  The 
Church  can  have  but  limited  effect  upon  those  who  know  neither  its  language 
nor  its  history  in  this  country.  We  must  care  for  the  children  and  youth,  and 
instruct  and  train  them  for  usefulness  in  the  Church.  The  Synod  therefore  sug¬ 
gests  to  the  Board  of  Education  that  it  may  be  to  the  best  interests  of  our 
Church  to  establish  schools  under  the  care  of  Classes,  where  the  youth  of  our 
Church  may  be  prepared  for  college,  and  where  they  may  be  thoroughly  in¬ 
doctrinated  in  Gospel  truths  and  the  standards  of  our  Church.” 

That  minute  of  General  Synod  had  not  been  put  in  type  before  the  vigorous 
churches  of  Northwestern  Iowa  had  incorporated  the  “Northwestern  Classical 
Academy.”  Their  papers  have  been  presented  to  the  Board  of  Education 
and  have  been  approved  by  that  body ;  and  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions 
stands  ready  to-day  to  co-operate  in  helping  on  this  enterprise,  so  auspicious  of 
good  to  the  churches  in  the  Northwest.  Located  on  the  confines  of  Iowa, 
Minnesota  and  Dakota,  it  has  a  field  of  usefulness  broad  and  great.  Thriving 
towns  and  villages  are  springing  up  in  every  direction,  and  I  think  I  am  not 
mistaken  in  saying  that  there  is  not  another  religious  school  of  any  denomina¬ 
tion  within  a  hundred  miles  of  this,  in  any  direction.  Our  Church  is  growing 
in  this  immediate  vicinity  faster  than  in  any  other  place  within  our  bounds. 
Four  new  churches  have  been  organized  since  the  Spring  meeting  of  Classis. 
What  other  Classis  has  organized churches  since  last  April  ?  Have  all  the 
other  Classes  combined  added  four  to  the  denomination  ?  “  Westward  the  Star 

of  Empire  takes  its  way.” 

New  settlements  are  being  formed  by  Hollanders  one  hundred  miles  west  of 
the  Iowa  line  in  Dakota.  It  is  too  late  to  do  anything  at  this  season  of  the 
year,  but  when  the  Spring  opens  they  will  need  a  missionary  and  a  place  for 
worship.  Shall  we  not  follow  these  people  with  our  sympathies,  our  prayers 
and  our  means  ? 

The  limit  set  to  this  paper  forbids  enlarging.  Something  has  been  said,  I 


21 


trust,  to  call  attention  once  again  to  those  so  nearly  allied  to  us  in  kin,  in  faith 
and  polity ;  to  show  that  God  has  committed  them  as  a  special  charge  to  the 
Reformed  Church  in  America ;  that  we  cannot  neglect  them  and  be  true  to  our¬ 
selves,  to  our  forefathers,  to  those  who  shall  come  after  us ;  nor  true  to  the 
great  Head  of  the  Church.  What  special  work  has  our  Church  if  it  is  not  this  ? 
Why  has  our  separate  existence  as  a  Church— a  Church  springing  from  Holland 
— why  has  it  been  preserved,  if  it  be  not  to  care  for  Hollanders  seeking  their 
homes  within  our  borders  ?  No  other  work  which  the  Domestic  Board  has 
done  in  the  fifty  years  of  its  existence  has  given  such  quick  and  such  large  re¬ 
sults  as  in  aiding  these  Holland  brethren.  No  work  in  the  future  is  likely  to  be 
so  permanent  and  wide  reaching.  The  colonies  in  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and 
Iowa  will  be  to  those  regions  what  the  early  colonies  have  been  to  New  York 
and  New  Jersey.  What  college  and  seminary  have  been  to  us  here,  will  be  Hope 
College  and  the  Northwestern  Classical  Academy  to  them  there. 

We  lost  here  by  delay  and  strife.  We  should  not  repeat  the  history  in  the 
West.  What  we  have  done  on  foreign  soil — in  China,  India  and  Japan,  is  a 
pledge  of  what  we  can  do  at  home.  We  have  schools  there,  and  can  build  them 
here.  The  ladies  of  our  Church  are  educating  boys  and  girls  for  the  Master. 
Are  there  none  that  can  do  the  same  for  the  Church  in  our  own  land,  and 
among  these  the  children  of  our  ancestors?  Noblewomen  have  to-day  their 
memorials  in  church  buildings  in  Illinois  and  Iowa.  Would  it  not  be  a  fitting 
and  enduring  work  if  the  ladies  of  the  Church  should  take  it  in  hand  to  build 
the  “Northwestern  Classical  Academy ? ’'  What  better  jubilee  ofiFering  could 
they  make?  They  hare  a  memorial  in  Ferris  Seminary  in  Japan,  in  Arcot,  and 
in  Amoy.  Why  not  now  plant  an  academy  for  sound  Christian  culture  in  a 
field  unoccupied,  where  three  great  States  join? 


The  Special  Work  of  the  Reformed  Church  Among 

the  Germans. 


By  Rev.  LEOPOLD  MOHN,  D.D. 


I  believe  in  a  Holy  Catholic  Church.  I  never  shall  join  in  the  hue  and  cry : 

Hie  mra  ecclesia,  Me  Spiritus  Sanctus  / but  as  a  son  of  the  Reformed 
Church,  I  arise  up  on  this  her  memorial  day  to  call  her  blessed.  Among  the 
many  virtues  that  adorn  her,  1  extol  the  catholicity  of  her  character ;  among 
the  many  works  that  she  has  done,  I  make  mention  of  her  obedience  to  Christ’s 
behest:  “to  teach  the  nations.”  Born  “  under  the  Cross”  and  refined  in  the 
furnace  of  persecution,  she  has  remained  “  steadfast  in  the  truth  that  was  once 
delivered  to  the  saints,”  and  notwithstanding  all  the  changes  that  time  and  local¬ 
ity  have  produced,  she  holds  forth  in  her  confessions,  liturgy,  scientific  and 
practical  theology  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God,  which  makes  Christ  the  cen¬ 
ter  from  which  all  truth  proceeds,  to  which  all  truth  points,  the  living  corner¬ 
stone  in  which  the  whole  building,  fitly  joined  together,  grows  into  a  holy  temple 
of  the  Lord.  While  her  Protestant  sisters  have  taken  their  names  from  the 
great  men  that  were  prominently  active  in  their  organization,  from  the  peculiar 
ecclesiastical  policy  which  they  possess,  or  from  the  nations  among  which  they 
had  their  origin,  she  calls  herself  simply  “the  Reformed  Church,”  whether  in 
Holland,  Germany,  Switzerland,  Belgium,  France,  Hungary,  Bohemia,  Africa, 
Asia  or  America,  and  as  in  the  Old  World  the  languages  of  different  nations 
resounded  from  her  pulpits,  when  she  offered  an  asylum  to  the  persecuted 
Christians  of  other  lands,  she  alone,  among  all  the  Churches  of  the  Reforma¬ 
tion,  has  succeeded  in  calling  together  an  oecumenical  council  in  the  Synod  of 
Dortrecht,  at  which  nearly  all  Christian  countries  were  represented  by  their 
learned  theologians,  to  lift  up  a  standard  against  error,  and  to  set  forth  the  eternal 
truths  of  the  revelation  of  God  in  reference  to  the  salvation  of  a  ruined  world. 

In  coming  to  this  country  she  remained  faithful  to  the  tradition  of  the  father- 
land,  for  the  early  dominies  were  truly  apostles,  filled  with  pentecostal  fire  and 
gifts,  preaching  the  Gospel  to  all  people  around  them,  for  of  the  116  ministers 
of  the  colonial  period  9  preached  wholly  or  in  part  French,  14  German,  9  Eng¬ 
lish,  5  to  the  Indians,  and  79  Buteli  only,  and  it  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  first 
ordination  administered  by  Reformed  pastors  on  this  continent  was  that  of  a 
German  brother,  whom  the  New  York  dominies  commissioned  to  preach  to  his 


23 


countrymen  in  the  Mohawk  Valley,  in  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania.  When, 
as  a  fruit  of  his  labors,  in  which  he  was  assisted  by  faithful  men,  the  German 
churches  became  a  host  by  themselves,  and  consequently  organized  a  Synod  of 
their  own ;  when  the  Indians  were  exterminated,  and  with  the  change  of  gov¬ 
ernment  the  Dutch  and  French  immigration  decreased,  English  became  the 
language  of  the  Church  and  held  its  exclusive  sway  for  decades,  till  about  thirty 
or  forty  years  ago,  when  the  rising  tide  of  German  immigration  directed  the 
attention  of  the  Rev.  J.  Rudy,  of  Pennsylvania,  to  the  large  and  growing  Ger¬ 
man  population  of  New  York.  Constrained  by  the  love  of  Christ,  he  left  his 
rural  parish  to  preach  the  Gospel  as  a  missionary  to  his  brethren  in  the  great 
city.  The  Collegiate  Church,  the  mother  of  the  denomination  in  this  country, 
extended  to  him  a  helping  hand,  and  the  result  of  united  labor  and  sacrifice 
was  the  establishment  of  the  Evangelical  Mission  Church  in  flouston  street,  to 
which,  after  the  untimely  death  of  its  noble  founder,  the  sainted  Guldin  min¬ 
istered  for  a  number  of  years,  through  whose  direct  and  indirect  influence  a 
number  of  German  churches  have  been  founded  in  this  city  and  its  environs, 
yea,  even  in  the  far  West,  that  together  present  the  most  successful  part  of  the 
operations  of  the  Domestic  Board,  to  which  they  offer  to-day,  at  this  semi¬ 
centennial  jubilee,  their  sincere  congratulations  and  heartfelt  thanks. 

Thus  the  work  has  been  begun,  and  with  the  continuing  and  increasing  cur¬ 
rent  of  German  immigration,  that  now  assumes  the  magnitude  of  an  inundation, 
and  brings  a  large  portion  of  the  intelligence,  working  power  and  capital  of 
Europe  to  these  shores,  the  field  widens  to  our  view,  and  the  opportunities  for 
planting  new  churches  multiply  from  day  to  day. 

True  to  our  motto,  “  Nulla  'ce&tigia  retrorsum,'''  we  cannot  go  back  nor  stand 
still,  for  stagnation  is  death,  and  as  a  living  organism  we  must  grow,  we  must 
go  forward.  A  great  part  of  the  work  can  be  done  by  the  American  churches 
in  such  localities  where  the  Germans  are  settling  among  them,  by  establishing 
German  Sunday-schools,  so  that  by  the  children  the  parents  maybe  reached  and 
not  be  separated  from  them  in  the  enjoyment  of  Gospel  privileges.  And  when 
a  messenger  of  Christ  can  be  procured  to  preach  to  these  people  in  the  language 
which  they  understand,  these  churches  ought  to  open  their  doors  for  German 
services,  so  that  on  the  holy  Sabbath  day  they  ma}''  exercise  the  blessed  duty  of 
hospitality  in  its  most  lovely  form  and  have  “  the  stranger  within  their  gates,’’ 
just  as  the  Christians  in  continental  Europe;  even  the  Roman  Catholics  not 
excepted,  open  their  churches  for  the  accommodation  of  English  and  American 
tourists,  that  they  may  enjoy  the  privilege  of  hearing  the  Word  of  God  in  their 
own  language,  while  in  the  pursuit  of  pleasure  and  recreation.  And  in  many 
places,  where  the  incoming  German  moves  into  the  houses  of  the  outgoing 
Anglo-Saxon  and  Knickerbocker,  who  seek  more  eligible  abodes,  the  extinction 
of  the  establishment  might  be  prevented  simply  by  a  change  of  language  in  the 
massively  built  church,  which  then  need  not  be  torn  down  or  given  over  to  pro¬ 
fane  uses,  and  leave  large  portions  of  our  immense  and  growing  cities,  filled 
with  people  that  perish  for  the  lack  of  knowledge  and  that  are  isolated  from 
Gospel  influences,  as  though  they  lived  on  a  South  Sea  island,  without  a  sanc¬ 
tuary. 

While  in  the  West  the  German  churches  have  grown  into  large  and  influential 


24 


bodies,  ■with  their  literary  and  theological  institutions,  they  are  comparatively 
weak  in  the  East,  where  our  Church  has  developed  its  greatest  strength.  As 
historic  tradition  and  similarity  of  doctrine  shows  a  close  relationship  between 
them  and  us,  and  makes  them  truly  our  cousins  German,  it  is  apparent  that  our 
Church  has  here  a  mission  to  perform,  to  which  duty  clearly  points,  to  which 
opportunity  invites,  to  which  accomplished  and  prospective  success  encourages, 
but  in  which  we  have  been  outdone,  as  far  as  zeal  is  concerned,  by  Methodists, 
Presbyterians  and  Episcopalians. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  difficulties  that  attend  every  new  effort,  notwith¬ 
standing  the  want  of  a  proper  system  of  working  as  a  result  of  the  circum¬ 
stances  under  which  the  work  has  been  done  and  carried  on  thus  far,  the  Jubilee 
Board  has  attained  results  to  which  it  can  point  with  satisfaction  and  gratitude. 
But  if  these  difficulties  are  removed,  if  systematic  arrangement,  supervision 
and  execution  give  place  to  merely  desultory  attempts  and  spasmodic  efforts, 
these  results  will  grow  into  culminating  success.  The  greatest  of  these  diffi¬ 
culties,  that  ought,  that  can  be  removed,  is  the  want  of  proper  means  for  the 
education  of  a  German  ministry.  Hitherto  our  main  dependence  has  been 
placed  upon  importation  from  Europe  or  upon  the  institutions  of  other  denom¬ 
inations.  However  acceptable  our  acquisitions  from  these  quarters  have  been 
in  general,  the  time  has  now  come  when  we  must  make  a  well  devised  effort  to 
obtain  a  ministry  to  the  manor  born,  a  consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished. 
We  have  two  colleges ;  in  both  the  language  and  literature  of  Germany  form  a 
part  of  the  regular  curriculum  of  study,  according  to  the  educational  status  of 
the  country.  We  have  in  the  library  of  the  Seminary  a  large  and  well  selected 
collection  of  German  books,  the  princely  gift  of  one  of  the  sons  of  the  New 
York  church.  We  may  have,  at  some  future  day,  a  Dutch  or  a  German  Prof es- 
sor  to  fill  a  theological  chair.  But  what  we  now  need  is  a  preparatory  school, 
in  which  German  youths,  who  have  the  ministry  in  view,  may  be  prepared  for 
college,  and  at  the  same  time  receive  grammatical  instruction  in  the  language 
which  they  have  to  use  in  preaching  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ  to  their 
own  people. 

The  Classis  of  Bergen,  by  constituting  the  long-established  and  now  well- 
organized  school  of  the  German  church  in  Hoboken  a  classical  academy,  has 
made  a  beginning  in  this  direction.  May  God  bless,  may  His  people  foster  this 
enterprise,  and  may  it  furnish  men  to  aid  the  Domestic  Board  to  plant  churches 
of  Christ  all  over  the  land,  wherever  Germans  by  their  intelligence  and  industry 
assist  in  developing  the  resources  of  this  vast  country.  This  is  fulfilling  a  pa¬ 
triotic  as  well  as  a  Christian  duty. 

But  all  that  has  been  said  may  be  controverted  by  the  assertion,  which  not 
unfrequently  is  made,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  Americanize  the  im¬ 
migrated  masses;  i.  e.,  to  influence,  yea,  compel  them,  to  use  the  English  lan¬ 
guage  in  their  families  and  churches.  How  this  can  be  deduced  from  the 
injunction  of  Christ,  to  disciple  the  nations,  to  teach  them  the  Gospel  so  that 
they  can  understand  it,  for  which  purpose  the  first  messengers  in  the  absence 
of  schools  were  endowed  by  the  Holy  Ghost  with  the  gift  of  tongues,  is  difficult 
to  perceive.  It  is  clearly  a  reversion  of  law  and  order  to  require  of  those  that 
are  to  be  taught  to  learn  the  language  of  the  teacher,  instead  of  the  teacher 


25 


learning  the  language  in  which  he  is  to  teach.  The  cause  of  many  of  the  trou¬ 
bles  that  distract  our  Holland  churches  in  the  West  lies  in  the  undue  haste  that 
many  American-born  ministers,  church  officers  and  members  have  shown  to 
change  the  national  character  of  the  immigrant  congregations.  Since  the 
stream  of  immigration  flows  with  unabated  strength,  since  the  connection  with 
the  fatherland  is  more  frequent  and  complete  than  formerly,  since  the  literature 
of  Holland  and  Germany  as  well  as  the  status  of  general  education  in  those 
countries  is  to-day  greatly  superior  to  that  of  the  time  of  colonial  settlement, 
there  will  be  as  much  danger  in  too  great  haste  as  there  was  in  too  great  delay 
in  times  gone  by.  Language  is  a  Arm  bond  in  all  human  relations,  and  the 
holier  and  more  intimate  the  latter,  the  firmer  and  more  endurable  the  former. 
Language  cannot  be  fabricated ;  it  has  a  historic  growth ;  it  can  neither  be 
abolished  by  an  ukas  or  a  Synodical  resolution,  and  if  it  dies,  it  dies  a  natural 
death.  If  there  is  to  be  a  change,  it  must  come  in  the  course  of  natural  events 
and  in  its  own  appointed  time.  But  that  time  has  not  yet  come  for  the  Holland 
and  German  languages.  Besides,  it  is  not  the  use  of  the  same  language  that 
forms  harmony  of  sentiment,  but  the  union  of  mind  and  spirit.  The  true  uni¬ 
fication  of  the  nation  will  be  brought  about  and  secured  by  an  union  in  Christ, 
the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  that  is  composed  of  all  peoples,  tribes  and 
tongues,  in  which  there  is  neither  Greek  nor  Jew,  neither  Roman  nor  Barbarian, 
neither  bond  nor  free,  but  all  and  in  all  Christ  Jesus,  Who  liveth  and  reign eth 
forever.  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords,  to  Whom  be  praise  and  glory,  as  it 
was,  is  now  and  shall  be,  world  without  end.  Amen ! 


THE  CHURCH  BUILDING  FUND. 


Its  Missionary  Character,  its  Vital  Importance,  and 
its  Peculiar  Claims  upon  the  Church. 


By  Rev.  JOHN  A.  TODD,  D,D. 


The  PHnceton  Review  for  April,  1869,  in  an  article  on  the  Planting  of  the 
American  Churches,  gave  utterance  to  two  sentences  of  which  every  member 
of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America  may  feel  justly  proud.  They  are  these; 
“Presbyterianism  was  first  planted  in  this  country  by  the  Dutch.  And  the 
beginning  of  its  strength  was  New  York.”  To  be  able  to  look  back  to  an  en¬ 
terprising  and  honorable  ancestry  is  a  privilege  not  to  be  despised.  We  should 
always  be  ready  to  recognize  the  value  of  such  a  distinction  to  its  fullest  extent. 
And  yet,  while  we  do  it,  we  should  never  forget  that  if  we  ourselves  prove  dis¬ 
loyal  to  the  principles  which  inspired  our  forefathers,  and  made  them  what  they 
were,  or  if  we,  through  the  love  of  ease  or  the  love  of  gain,  become  indifferent 
to  the  great  interests  of  the  Church  and  of  the  State,  which  they  willingly  made 
so  many  sacrifices  to  promote,  we  do  but  shame  ourselves  by  the  contrast,  even 
while  we  seek  to  honor  them. 

The  planting  of  Christian  Churches  upon  American  soil,  as  centers  of  spirit¬ 
ual  light,  and  of  elevating  infiuence  to  the  people,  was  a  mission  too  noble  and 
too  grand  to  be  exaggerated  by  any  words  of  eulogy  which  we  can  employ. 
All  that  is  best  and  loftiest  in  our  national  characteristics  is  to  be  traced  back 
to  the  sublime  Christian  faith  and  Christian  morals  which  had  their  source  in 
the  Word  of  God,  and  were  nourished  into  fruitfulness  and  power  under  the 
fostering  agency  of  religious  worship.  The  men  and  the  women  of  those  earlier 
generations  had  a  just  sense  of  their  position  and  their  responsibilities,  and,  in 
their  devotion  to  great  public  ends,  the  establishment  and  the  growth  of  a  soci¬ 
ety  in  which  the  virtues  of  the  Gospel  should  be  at  once  the  informing  life  of 
its  patriotism  and  the  pledge  of  its  stable  prosperity  in  the  future,  as  well  as  the 
preparation  of  individual  souls,  through  Jesus  Christ,  for  a  glorious  immortal- 


27 


ity  in  heaven,  they  set  us  an  example  which  we,  their  posterity,  should  regard 
it  as  our  highest  honor  to  remember,  and  to  imitate  to-day. 

They  built  their  churches,  they  founded  their  schools,  and  they  provided  for 
their  order  of  worship,  along  these  eastern  shores  of  the  continent,  it  is  true. 
But  the  western  border  of  the  narrow  strip  of  territory  they  occupied  was  just 
as  much,  nay,  it  was  even  more  the  frontier  of  civilization  and  Christianity 
than  any  line  that  can  now  be  drawn  on  this  side  of  the  Pacific  coast.  For  be¬ 
yond  their  territory  all  was  dark — dark  as  unmitigated  heathenism  itself ;  but 
beyond  the  farthest  line  that  we  can  now  draw  there  is  still  some  degree  of 
illumination,  obscured  it  may  be  by  the  surrounding  darkness,  and  even  some 
centers  of  Gospel  truth,  and  saving  influence,  adapted  to  meet  the  spiritual 
wants  of  men.  The  results  that  have  grown  out  of  those  early  endeavors  are 
before  us.  We  see  a  nation  of  fifty  millions  of  people,  great,  free,  and  in  some 
sense  Christian,  with  its  schools,  its  churches,  and  its  Sabbaths.  If  it  is  not  all 
that  we  could  wish  it  to  be,  we  can  believe  that  the  same  moral  forces  that  have 
thus  far  developed  so  much  of  good  will  in  the  future  be  capable  of  developing 
still  more. 

We  thus  draw  from  our  past  experience  an  argument  which,  next  to  the  obli¬ 
gation  devolved  upon  us  by  Christ’s  own  command  to  preach  the  Gospel  to 
every  creature,  at  home  as  well  as  abroad,  is  the  most  practical  and  the  most 
powerful  plea  for  Domestic  Missions.  This  is  the  illustration  of  our  Saviour’s 
words  that  “Wisdom  is  justified  of  her  children.”  In  such  an  enterprise, 
surely,  Patriotism  and  Religion  are  allied  forces.  Their  march  across  the  con¬ 
tinent  is  step  by  step,  and  hand  in  hand.  As  the  Christian  is  a  patriot,  be  seeks 
the  welfare  of  his  country.  And  as  the  patriot  is  a  Christian,  he  claims  his 
whole  country  for  Christ.  No  man  can  be  a  patriot,  in  its  truest  sense,  who 
^does  not  lend  his  sympathy  and  his  support  in  some  way  to  this  noble  under¬ 
taking.  No  man  can  be  a  Christian,  in  the  loving  and  generous  spirit  of  the 
Master  Whom  he  claims  to  serve,  while  he  stands  aloof,  in  cold  indifference  to 
a  cause  which  involves  the  extension  of  His  kingdom  and  the  glory  of  His 
Name. 

Even  with  collective,  organized  Churches  this  work  is,  and  ever  must  be,  a 
matter  of  self-preservation.  For  whenever  they  surrender  themselves  to  ease 
and  to  mere  indulgence,  confining  their  efforts  to  their  own  narrow  sphere, 
neither  doing  nor  caring  to  do  anything  to  extend  the  boundaries  of  Christian 
influence  over  the  world,  lying  in  sin  and  death  around  them,  that  moment  the 
gangrene  of  doctrinal  and  spiritual  decay  has  begun  its  fatal  work  in  their  own 
members.  It  may  require  time  to  bring  on  the  final  catastrophe,  but  sooner  or 
later  it  will  come.  When  Dr.  Duff,  the  great  Scottish  Missionary,  declared 
that  “The  Church  that  ceases  to  be  evangelistic  will  soon  cease  to  be  evangeli¬ 
cal,”  he  uttered  a  saying  upon  which  the  history  of  the  Church,  through  all  the 
Christian  ages,  has  stamped  the  seal  of  undoubted  truth. 

Nor  is  this  all.  Our  own  country,  large  as  it  is,  is  not  to  be  the  limit  of  the 
Church’s  efforts.  Our  Saviour’s  last  command  took  in  a  far  wider  field  of 
operations.  He  said,  “  All  power  is  given  unto  Me  in  heaven  and  in  earth  :  Go 
ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations.”  “Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature.”  If  we  wish  to  obey  it,  and  to  evangelize  the 


28 


world,  with  its  population,  according  to  the  last  statistics,  of  1,433,800,000 
souls,  there  is  no  instrumentality  so  promising  and  so  efficient  as  the  multiplica¬ 
tion  of  Christian  churches  all  over  the  land,  from  north  to  south,  and  from  east 
to  west,  to  swell  the  volume  of  Gospel  inffuence,  with  their  gifts,  their  prayers, 
and  their  sons  and  daughters  to  be  laborers  for  Christ  on  heathen  shores.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  Crimean  War,  when  the  allied  armies  of  Western  Europe  were  gathered 
around  Sebastopol,  struggling  to  wrest  that  fortress  from  the  grasp  of  Russia, 
the  Hungarian  patriot,  Kossuth,  referring  to  the  revival  of  the  Polish  national¬ 
ity  as  the  most  paralyzing  blow  to  Russian  power,  said  to  them,  “You  will  take 
Sebastopol  at  Warsaw.”  And  so,  with  equal  signiffcance,  we  may  say  in  regard 
to  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  nations  to  Christ,  “You  will  take  Asia  and 
Africa  in  the  Western  States  and  Territories  of  America.”  There  the  work  of 
Christian  patriotism  for  our  country,  and  of  Christian  benevolence  for  the 
world,  is  to  be  rendered  most  certain  and  productive. 

But  how  shall  that  be  done  ?  What  are  the  means  to  be  employed  ?  Where 
are  the  points  of  special  importance  to  which  it  behooves  us,  as  a  Church,  to 
turn  our  most  vigilant  attention?  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that,  with  the  sin¬ 
gle  exception  of  the  living  preacher  himself,  there  is  nothing  of  more  vital  mo¬ 
ment  than  the  erection  of  comfortable  and  attractive  church  buildings,  suited 
to  the  wants  of  the  people,  into  which  they  may  be  gathered  on  the  Sabbath 
day,  and  through  the  week  as  opportunity  offers,  to  engage  in  public  worship 
and  to  be  brought  under  the  elevating  and  moulding  power  of  a  preached  Gos¬ 
pel.  But  who  shall  erect  them  ?  It  is  not  given  to  all  men,  nor  to  all  com¬ 
munities,  to  be  rich.  Especially  is  that  true  in  regard  to  the  overwhelming 
mass  of  those  who  lead  the  vanguard  of  civilization  upon  our  western  frontiers. 
They  have  to  fight  the  battle  of  physical  existence  for  themselves  and  for  their ^ 
families,  and  however  they  might  be  disposed  to  build  churches,  and  to  support 
the  institutions  of  religion,  they  are  powerless  to  do  it,  because  they  are  too 
poor. 

In  some  cases,  indeed,  they  have  undertaken  to  do  it,  but  only  with  such  im¬ 
perfect  results  as  their  scanty  means  would  allow.  There  are  few  records  more 
pathetic  and  touching  to  the  heart,  in  the  literature  of  our  Domestic  Missions 
for  the  last  fifty  years,  than  those  that  tell  of  the  labors  which  poor  emigrants 
from  the  east  have  performed  to  build  their  rude  churches — sometimes  a  mere 
framework  enclosed  with  rough  boards,  and  covered  over  with  brush  or  sod,  so 
that  they  and  their  children  might  have  a  place  where  they  could  mingle  their 
hearts  together  in  prayer  to  the  God  of  their  fathers,  with  whom  they  had  once 
worshiped  in  the  old  church  now  far  away  toward  the  rising  sun,  or  where  they 
could  unite  in  loving  communion  with  the  same  Saviour  Whose  tender  faithful¬ 
ness  had  been  the  support  of  parents  and  dear  ones  who  had  since  been  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  Church  Triumphant  in  the  skies.  Such  as  they  were,  the  churches 
thus  provided  were  the  work  of  hands  hardened  with  honest  toil,  and  they  were 
completed  and  offered  to  God  by  those  who  built  them,  with  patient  labors 
taken  from  the  fields,  where  they  earned  their  daily  bread. 

Now,  it  was  to  the  pressure  of  just  such  wants  as  these — wants  which  it  was 
impossible  by  any  other  means  to  supply — that  the  Chueoh  Building  Fund, 
connected  with  our  Board  of  Domestic  Missions,  owed  its  first  suggestion,  and 


29 


its  subsequent  existence,  which,  as  a  vital  necessity  to  the  Church’s  growth  and 
expansion,  has  been  continued  down  to  this  day. 

But  what  is  the  Church  Building  Fund  ?  What  is  the  plan  upon  which  it  is 
organized  and  administered  ?  What  does  it  propose  to  do  ?  And  what  claim 
has  it  upon  the  friendly  interest  and  the  generous  contributions  of  the  Church  ? 
If  we  take  these  questions  in  their  order,  and  give  to  each  a  brief  and  compre¬ 
hensive  answer,  we  shall  have  before  us  all  the  facts  that  we  need  to  know,  in 
order  to  form  an  intelligent  and  proper  judgment. 

1.  What  is  the  Church  Building  Fund  ?  It  is  a  fund  which  in  its  origin 
dates  back  to  1854.  As  first  proposed,  it  was  to  consist  of  not  less  than  $25,000, 
but  under  the  necessities  that  have  arisen  from  the  growth  of  our  Church,  east 
and  west,  it  has  now  become  much  larger,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  as  the 
Ch'urch  continues  to  extend  her  borders  the  fund  will  continue  to  increase,  in 
order  to  meet  the  demand.  The  object  contemplated  was  of  a  strictly  mission¬ 
ary  nature.  It  was,  and  is  now,  to  aid  feeble  congregations  everywhere,  but 
especially  in  the  great  west,  where  the  need  is  always  urgent,  in  providing  for 
themselves  suitable  houses  of  public  worship.  It  was  felt,  and  j  ustly,  that  with¬ 
out  a  church  edifice  of  their  own  the  people  could  never  have  a  church  home, 
with  all  the  tender  and  sacred  associations  that  gather  about  it.  They  might 
worship  temporarily  in  a  school-house,  or  in  a  court-room,  or  in  a  concert-hall. 
But  that  could  never  be  a  church  home,  nor  a  source  of  that  peculiar  religious 
influence  which,  lingering  in  the  house  of  God,  seems  to  fall  upon  the  hearts  of 
those  who  habitually  worship  in  it. 

To  understand  the  vast  importance  of  having  suitable  church  buildings  for 
the  people,  we  have  only  to  imagine  what  the  effect  would  be  upon  religious 
growth  and  progress  if  all  the  church  buildings  in  the  land,  with  their  heaven; 
pointing  spires,  were  demolished,  and  a  dead,  worldly  blank  were  to  take  their 
places.  It  was  not  without  reason  that  the  late  Dr.  Bellows,  as  he  pointed  to 
the  spire  of  the  Presbyterian  church  on  Madison  square,  New  York,  made  the 
remark,  “  I  tell  you  this  city  is  being  saved  and  educated  by  its  steeples.”  To 
say  nothing  of  the  benefit  to  those  who  go  in  to  worship,  there  is  a  silent  virtue 
that  emanates  from  the  very  presence  of  the  house  of  God  that  leaves  its  whole¬ 
some  influence  upon  the  community  around  it.  To  aid  in  filling  the  land,  and 
especially  the  west,  with  just  such  centers  of  moral  power  is  the  object  which 
the  Church  Building  Fund  contemplates. 

2.  What  is  the  plan  upon  which  that  fund  is  organized  and  administered  ? 
All  contributions  made  by  the  churches  to  this  object— and  they  are  all  urged 
to  contribute  every  year — are  received  by  the  Treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Do¬ 
mestic  Missions,  and  are  held  by  him  subject  to  the  control  and  direction  of  the 
Board.  Whenever  a  feeble  congregation  anywhere  desires  to  be  aided  in  build¬ 
ing  a  house  of  public  worship,  it  must  first  obtain  from  the  Classis  within  whose 
territories  it  is  located  a  recommendation  to  the  Board,  stating  the  amount  re¬ 
quired,  and  stating  also  the  amount  to  be  raised  by  the  people  themselves  who 
make  the  application.  It  is  then  within  the  power  of  the  Board,  upon  proper 
examination,  and  in  its  best  judgment,  to  grant  the  loan  requested,  either  in 
whole  or  in  part.  If  it  be  deemed  desirable,  the  loan  may  be  granted  in  sepa¬ 
rate  installments,  the  amount  of  the  advances  and  the  time  when  they  shall  be 


30 


made  to  churches  in  process  of  erection  being  left  in  the  discretion  of  the  Board, 
which  is  required  always  to  take,  as  the  usual  approved  security  for  each  ad¬ 
vance,  a  first  bond  and  mortgage  upon  the  property.  The  bond  and  mortgage 
are  made  payable,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  at  the  end  of  a  year.  The 
interest  upon  the  loan  may  be  remitted  at  the  option  of  the  Board  of  Domestic 
Missions,  and  when  it  is  so  remitted  the  church  is  required  to  take  up  an  annual 
collection  for  the  Church  Building  Fund.  The  church  is  expected  to  pay  back 
to  the  Board  the  amount  of  pecuniary  aid  it  has  thus  received  as  soon  as  its  re¬ 
sources  will  enable  it  to  do  so.  It  is  one  of  the  standing  rules  of  ^he  Church 
Building  Fund  that  no  church  shall  be  aided  which  would  have  a  debt  remain¬ 
ing  upon  it  after  receiving  assistance  from  this  fund. 

It  is  thus  seen  that  while  the  Board  secures  by  bond  and  mortgage  the  amount 
of  its  loans,  it  is  at  the  same  time  enabled  to  lend  timely  and  important  aid  to 
struggling  churches  in  the  most  trying  period  of  their  existence,  by  remitting 
the  interest,  and  by  waiting  until  they  shall  be  able  to  repay  the  loans.  When 
a  loan  is  thus  repaid  it  is  invested  in  some  new  enterprise,  on  the  same  princi¬ 
ples  and  the  same  conditions.  And  thus,  as  a  stream  is  made  to  turn  the  wheels 
and  spindles  of  a  hundred  factories  in  succession,  as  it  fiows  on  its  course,  so  the 
contributions  made  to  the  Church  Building  Fund  are  multiplied  a  hundred-fold, 
by  being  used  in  building  church  after  church,  through  a  series  of  years.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  other  denominations,  as  our  Episcopal  brethren,  for  exam¬ 
ple,  having  seen  the  satisfactory  working  of  the  plan  among  us,  have  adopted 
it  as  a  valuable  instrumentality  in  their  own  domestic  missionary  efforts. 

3.  What  does  the  Church  Building  Fund  propose  to  do  ?  It  proposes,  in  the 
hands  of  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions,  and  by  the  blessing  of  God  upon  it, 
to  do  its  utmost  in  order  to  become  a  powerful  supporter  to  the  domestic  mis¬ 
sionary  in  his  arduous  and  self-denying  labors.  And  so,  while  aiding  in  the 
erection  of  new  churches  among  the  destitute,  it  is  at  the  same  time  contribut¬ 
ing  to  help  on  his  work,  and  to  inspire  his  courage.  It  proposes,  in  the  same 
hands,  and  under  the  same  blessing,  to  lend  its  support  and  encouragement  to 
those  who,  in  the  midst  of  spiritual  desolation,  would  gladly  do  what  little  their 
poverty  would  permit  to  establish  the  public  worship  of  God  in  their  communi¬ 
ties,  and  to  bring  their  friends  and  neighbors  under  the  blessed  influence  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ.  It  proposes  to  assist,  so  far  as  it  can,  in  gathering  together 
in  a  common  center  Christian  congregations,  to  be,  by  their  spirit  and  example, 
a  restraint  upon  vice  and  wrong  in  all  their  forms,  and  to  be  sources  of  health¬ 
ful  influence  that  shall  tend  to  make  men  better  citizens,  better  neighbors,  bet¬ 
ter  Christians,  serving  God  and  their  fellow-men,  and  so  the  better  prepared  for 
the  joyful  communion  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven.  It  proposes  to  create,  wher¬ 
ever  its  power  extends,  living,  earnest,  spiritual  churches,  from  which  there 
shall  go  forth  missionary  prayers,  missionary  gifts,  and  missionary  laborers  to 
scatter  the  saving  truth  in  Christ  Jesus  among  all  nations,  and  to  promote  the 
happiness  and'the  salvation  of  human  souls.  And  surely,  an  agency  that  was 
organized,  and  is  now  efficiently  used,  for  the  production  of  such  results  is  one 
on  account  of  which  every  patriot  and  every  Christian  ought  to  thank  God,  and 
to  take  new  courage. 

4.  What  claim  has  this  Church  Building  Fund  upon  the  friendly  interest  and 


31 


the  generous  contributions  of  the  Church  ?  It  has  sveey  claim  that  can  possi¬ 
bly  grow  out  of  the  fact  that  it  is  a  great  and  beneficent  agency,  maintained 
simply  and  only  for  the  honor  of  God,  and  for  the  temporal  and  eternal  wel¬ 
fare  of  men.  There  are  hundreds  of  self-sustaining  churches  in  our  country 
to-day  that  owe  their  existence,  and  all  their  usefulness,  under  the  blessing  of 
heaven,  to  the  timely  aid  they  received  from  this  Church  Building  Fund.  And 
that  is  something  that  should  plead  trumpet-tongued  for  our  most  cordial  sym¬ 
pathy  and  support.  The  churches  thus  warmed  into  life  and  vigor  are  now 
helping  to  do  for  others,  beyond  them,  what  was  done  in  their  time  of  trial  for 
them.  This  fund  has  a  claim,  too,  arising  from  the  fact  that,  being  already  in 
hand,  it  can  be  used  with  promptness  in  special  emergencies  to  save  an  imper¬ 
illed  church  already  half-completed,  where  the  long  and  tedious  process  of  ob¬ 
taining  subscriptions  and  of  making  collections  for  the  purpose  would  be  less 
effective,  and  in  many  cases  would  utterly  fail.  The  claim  is  rendered  all  the 
stronger  by  the  consideration  that  the  fund  is  never  to  be  used  for  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  competing  churches,  that  spring  out  of  a  mere  denominational 
rivalry,  in  places  already  supplied,  or  where  there  is  no  need  that  they  should 
be  built.  The  fund  is  designed  for  those  places,  and  those  only,  where,  in  the 
best  judgment  of  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions,  a  pressing  need  actually  ex¬ 
ists,  and  where  the  aid  which  it  affords  would  enable  the  people  to  secure  a 
spiritual  blessing,  of  which  they  would  otherwise  be  compelled  to  live  in  want. 

If  there  is  any  object,  next  to  the  support  of  the  missionary  himself,  that  has 
a  just  claim  upon  the  deepest  interest  of  the  Church,  it  is  this.  Twenty  years 
ago  the  General  Synod,  in  a  report  on  Domestic  Missions  unanimously  adopted, 
said,  in  regard  to  the  Church  Building  Fund,  “No  measure  connected  with  the 
work  of  the  Board  oan  be  of  more  vital  importance,  *  *  It  is  not  only 
an  important  auxiliary  to  the  other  operations  of  the  Board,  but  it  is  essen¬ 
tially  necessary  to  their  highest  and  most  lasting  success.  And  it  therefore 
merits  a  prominent  place  in  the  system  of  annual  collections  in  all  the  churches.” 
And  what  the  General  Synod  said  twenty  years  ago  is  just  as  true  and  just  as 
worthy  of  our  earnest  attention  to-day. 

It  is  one  of  the  lamentable  features  of  our  time  that  men,  and  even  communi¬ 
ties,  can  spend  their  money  with  lavish  prodigality  upon  mere  display,  upon 
fashion,  upon  amusements,  and  upon  indulgencies,  all  of  doubtful  taste,  and 
what  is  worse,  often  of  doubtful  morals,  which  react  in  terrible  ruin  upon  both 
the  body  and  the  soul,  while  they  have  so  little  to  give  to  the  noblest  objects 
that  can  appeal  to  the  human  heart,  the  advancement  and  the  salvation  of  their 
fellow-men  from  misery  and  death,  and  the  honor  of  Christ  their  Saviour.  Let 
anyone  take  the  single  city  of  New  York,  and  compare  the  amount  spent  there 
for  the  support  of  religion  with  the  amount  spent  for  the  two  indulgences  of 
liquor  and  tobacco,  and  he  will  find  the  result  appalling.  And  all  the  more  so 
when  he  remembers  that  that  which  receives  the  least  elevates  men  and  women, 
and  makes  them  purer  and  nobler,  while  that  which  receives  the  most  demoral¬ 
izes  and  degrades  them,  and  casts  them  down  to  the  lowest  depths  of  debase¬ 
ment.  One  of  the  New  York  daily  papers,  in  speaking  of  the  fact  only  a  few 
days  ago,  said,  “  It  is  surprising  that  the  religious  work  of  the  city  costs  so  little. 
A  large  part  of  the  expenditures  for  benevolence  is  devoted  to  mission  work 


32 


outside  of  New  York,  so  that  the  total  of  operating  expenses,  $3,218,735,  is 
almost  the  whole  cost  of  religious  work  on  Manhattan  Island.  There  are  about 
7,000  drinking  saloons  here  to  the  421  churches,  and  the  amount  expended  for 
drink  is  about  $25,000,000  annually.  The  people  pay  much  more  for  tobacco 
than  for  religion.  No  hesitation  need  be  felt  in  asserting  that  the  $6,500,000 
expended  by  the  churches  in  New  York  this  year,  including  $775,224  for  church 
building,  will  accomplish  vastly  more  good  than  any  equal  amount  expended 
for  any  purpose  whatever.  When  it  is  seen  how  much  the  churches  accom¬ 
plish  with  a  comparatively  small  amount,  there  ought  to  be  more  freedom  in 
contributing  to  their  treasuries.” 

We  can  only  lay  the  claims  of  the  Church  Building  Fund,  as  of  every  other 
benevolent  object,  upon  the  enlightened  conscience  of  our  people,  with  the 
prayer  that  they  may  remember  their  Christian  obligations,  and  sustain  this 
cause  with  their  sympathies  and  with  their  means. 

“Ye  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that,  though  He  was  rich,  yet 
for  your  sakes  He  became  poor,  that  ye  through  His  poverty  might  be  rich.” 

“  There  is  that  scattereth,  and  yet  increaseth  ;  and  there  is  that  withholdeth 
more  than  is  meet,  but  it  tendeth  to  poverty.  The  liberal  soul  shall  be  made 
fat ;  and  he  that  watereth  shall  be  watered  also  himself.” 

If  in  this  spirit  we  address  ourselves  to  the  work  before  us,  there  can  be  but 
one  result.  It  will  be  success,  triumph,  our  own  salvation,  the  salvation  of  our 
country,  and  the  salvation  of  the  world.  The  command  which  God  gave  to 
Israel,  in  the  parting  words  of  Moses,  as  the  mighty  host  stood  ready  to  march 
and  to  take  possession  of  the  promised  land,  is  the  same  command  which  God 
now  gives  to  us  :  “  Behold  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  set  the  land  before  thee  ; 

go  up  and  possess  it,  as  the  Lord  God  of  thy  fathers  hath  said  unto  thee  ;  fear 
not,  neither  be  discouraged.” 


Woman’s  Work  in  Behalf  of  the  Board  of  Domestic 

Missions. 


By  Rev.  CORNELIUS  BRETT. 


It  is  assumed  that  woman  may  and  ought  to  share  with  man  the  privileges 
and  responsibilities  of  work  for  Christ.  It  is  no  longer  necessary  to  champion 
her  rights.  She  never  needed  more  than  a  hint  to  indicate  her  duty.  Success¬ 
ful  effort  has  demonstrated  the  feasibility  of  a  hoi}’-  partnership,  and  community 
of  service. 

The  question  of  the  hour  is  'practical  rather  than  theoretical ;  it  is,  in  a  word, 
how  to  utilize  in  consecrated  effort,  so  as  to  produce  the  best  results,  that  pecu¬ 
liar  gentleness,  tact  and  persistency  which  inhere  in  the  womanly  nature.  What 
device  shall  we  paint  on  the  timbrel  of  Miriam  ?  Under  which  oak  shall  De¬ 
borah  take  the  honored  seat  ?  By  what  formula  shall  Mary  mingle  her  spike¬ 
nard  for  the  Master’s  anointing  ? 

When  the  timbrel  sounds,  the  waiting  Church  will  join  the  chorus  and  the 
dance.  Barak  bravely  seizes  the  sword  which  the  prophetess  has  sharpened. 
Only  a  Judas  flings  carping  criticism  at  the  breaking  of  that  alabaster  box. 

It  is  asserted  by  a  female  philosopher  that  woman  is  a  force  rather  than  a 
power  in  society.  It  matters  not  by  what  name  we  dignify  her  subtle  influence 
and  indefatigable  zeal,  they  are  undisputed  factors  in  our  social  life. 

Ten  thousand  spots  in  the  desert  of  earth  are  oases  to-day  because  her  smiling 
face  has  beamed  upon  them ;  nor  need  she  step  out  of  her  allotted  sphere  to 
bless  the  world  by  that  sweet  presence.  Orphaned,  friendless  and  neglected 
children  have  been  fed  and  clothed. 

Sisters  in  misery  have  been  succored  ;  the  widow’s  fire  kept  burning  on  her 
hearth.  For  the  aged  have  been  prepared  those  quiet  nooks,  whence  they  may 
look  out  in  calm  meditation  on  a  golden  sunset.  The  pillow  of  the  fevered 
patient  has  been  smoothed  with  tender  ministry,  and  the  gloomy  ward  of  the 
hospital  brightened  with  fragrant  flowers. 

While  teaching  a  city’s  poor  the  grand  secret  of  self-help,  she  can  satisfy 
with  superabounding  hospitality  the  hungry  cravings  of  a  great  convention. 

We  can  hardly  imagine  what  the  Sunday-school  would  be  without  the  putting 
out  to  usury  of  woman’s  imperial  talent  as  a  teacher  of  the  young. 

In  many  a  church  the  Ladies’  Aid  Society  is  the  pastor’s  right  hand.  With 


34 


irresistible  determination  the  church  debt  is  grappled,  crying  “  Where  there’s  a 
will,  there’s  a  way.”  She  who  was  “last  at  the  cross,  and  first  at  the  sepulchre,’’ 
succeeds  where  even  a  Kimball  would  have  failed.  Her  needle  is  often  a  heaven- 
given  lever  by  M^hich  the  church  is  lifted  out  of  the  “Slough  of  Despond;” 
and  when  the  church  has  been  set  in  a  wealthy  place,  scintillating  with  the  light¬ 
ning  flash  of  love,  it  flies  faster  than  a  weaver’s  shuttle  in  her  willing  fingers; 
now  with  Dorcas’  skill  to  clothe  Christ’s  poor  in  decent  habit  for  the  sanctuary, 
and  again,  as  used  by  Hebrew  women,  to  embroider  curtains  to  deck  the  fair 
temple  of  their  love. 

In  the  same  spirit,  ever  on  the  alert  when  work  is  to  be  done,  w  atching  the 
glance  of  Him  Who  “  guides  His  people  with  His  eye,”  has  the  sisterhood  of 
the  present  generation  entered  as  a  faithful  laborer  the  field  of  the  world. 

The  early  missionaries  took  their  wives  with  them  to  distant  lands  almost 
unknown.  It  has  never  been  denied  that  the  larger  share  of  sacrifice  fell  to 
the  lot  of  the  faithful  helpmeet.  The  Christian  home  was  the  constant  preacher 
of  righteousness  among  the  heathen  ;  and  beside  the  care  of  her  household,  the 
mission  wife  gladly  shared  the  husband’s  toil  in  earnest  endeavor  to  win  idola¬ 
ters  to  the  worship  of  the  true  God. 

Sympathy  with  these  labors  and  trials  has,  from  the  beginning,  brought  the 
missionary  cause  very  close  to  the  heart  of  wives  and  mothers  at  home ;  and 
one  of  these,  pre-eminent  by  reason  of  her  zeal,  became  known  in  every  station 
as  the  missionary’s  friend.  Her  sumptuous  mansion  was  open  to  the  departing 
tyro  and  the  returning  veteran  ;  she  waved  off  the  packet,  laden  with  the  Church’s 
hope,  and  welcomed  the  home- comer  on  the  quay.  Every  mail  brought  news 
fresh  from  the  front,  and  carried  out  loving  words  of  good  cheer.  Conversa¬ 
tion  and  correspondence  revealed  the  astounding  fact  that  man  stands  almost 
powerless  to  influence  the  secluded  women  of  harem  and  zenana.  Across  the 
rolling  billows  came  the  cry,  loud  as  from  Macedonia  of  old,  “Sisters,  come 
over  and  help  us!”  Eager  was  the  response  from  hearts  rejoicing  in  a  new 
found  vocation,  “  Here  I  am,  send  me.”  The  “missing  link”  is  ready  to  be 
welded  in  place.  Female  workers  fly  to  the  waiting  work.  Mission  Bands  are 
organized  in  every  church. 

Similar  organization  in  aid  of  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions  has  hitherto 
been  wanting,  because  it  has  not  seemed  to  be  imperatively  demanded. 

The  work  committed  to  the  Board  appeared  to  be  easily  within  the  grasp  of 
the  brethren  appointed  to  perform  it.  In  as  far  as  Domestic  Missions  means 
Church  extension.  Church  officials,  working  through  ecclesiastical  assemblies, 
must  bear  the  larger  share  of  the  burden.  Watchmen  on  the  walls  of  Zion, 
ever  on  the  alert  for  new  strategic  points,  are  in  full  possession  of  the  enginery 
for  establishing  new  outposts.  The  freedom  of  the  American  home  opens  every 
house  to  pastor  and  pioneer  evangelist.  The  wife  of  a  home  missionary  will 
labor  to  the  full  extent  of  her  powers,  often  far  beyond  her  strength,  as  a  faith¬ 
ful  coadjutor  ;  but  her  name  is  not  in  the  call,  she  receives  no  commission  from 
the  Board,  is  in  no  sense  their  servant,  and  does  not  come  into  direct  communi¬ 
cation  with  the  patrons  of  the  cause. 

Thus  we  see  at  a  glance  how  consecrated  womanhood,  prayerfully  seeking 
opportunities  for  Christian  labor,  has  turned  aside  from  the  fair  field,  because 


35 


no  corner  has  been  found  where  work  peculiarly  feminine  could  with  advantage 
be  performed.  In  certain  quarters  the  very  offer  of  help  would  have  been  an 
intrusion. 

I  do  not  mean  to  affirm  that  all  the  women  of  our  Church  have  been  neglect* 
ful  of  mission  work  at  home.  In  the  Mission-church  and  Sunday-school  female 
effort,  in  all  its  branches,  has  been  most  successfully  employed.  Not  only  the 
clean  and  orderly  children  of  the  home  school  have  been  taught,  but  the  wild 
Arabs  of  our  city  slums,  and  the  boors  of  the  frontier  cabin,  have  been  gathered 
in  the  Master’s  name. 

The  more  feeble  the  resources  of  struggling  organizations,  the  greater  has 
been  the  need  of  fair,  festival  and  mite  society  to  sustain  them.  Here  and 
there,  where  there  has  been  no  immediate  demand  for  service  in  the  local  church, 
pious  thoughtfulness  has  embraced  the  home  missionary  and  his  household.  The 
well  filled  box,  with  a  love-token  for  everj^  one  of  the  family,  has  tided  over 
the  long  Winter  with  comfort  and  plenty. 

Certain  women,  emulating  the  example  of  those  who  ministered  of  their  sub¬ 
stance  unto  Christ,  have  with  generous  gifts  made  it  possible  to  build  churches 
and  establish  stations.  While  these  have  given  of  their  abundance,  the  Master 
sitting  over  against  the  Treasury  knows  of  many  a  widow’s  mite,  loosened  from 
the  trembling  grasp  of  self-denial  and  penury.  Such  mites  are  not  lost  in  the 
grand  aggregate,  for  the  Head  of  the  Church,  in  answer  to  fervent  prayer,  sees 
and  follows  in  the  crested  billows,  which  are  sweeping  over  our  earth  with  the 
flood  of  holiness,  each  separate  drop.  But  with  all  this  individual  effort,  and 
the  sporadic  cases  of  organized  help  recently  developed,  the  fact  is  indisputable 
— there  has  been  no  general  rally  of  the  women  of  our  Reformed  Church  in 
behalf  of  Domestic  Missions. 

There  is,  however,  no  indifference  to  the  cause.  It  is  dear  to  every  heart ; 
its  needs  are  patent.  If  our  sisters  are  once  assured  that  organization  is  the 
need  of  the  hour,  that  their  help  will  be  heartily  welcome  and  can  be  eflectively 
employed,  they  will  not  another  day  defer  it. 

Let  this  Convention,  in  clear  and  unmistakable  terms,  give  expression  to  the 
floating  hints  of  the  last  few  years  and  definitely  declare,  the  women  of  our 
Church  ought  to  organize  in  behalf  of  Domestic  Missions,  long  ere  the  Jubilee 
Year  is  ended.  Sweet  treble  will  blend  with  manly  bass  in  singing  the  grand 
chorus : 

‘•Return,  ye  Ransomed  Nation,  home.” 

May  we  briefly  note  the  indications  of  Providence  which  point  toward  a 
waiting  work  : 

I.  The  importance  of  Home  Missions  increases  with  the  growth  of  the  great 
American  Nation. 

It  is  not  merely  a  question  of  Church  extension,  it  is  the  regeneration  of  a 
whole  people.  There  are  fifty  millions  now,  where  when  this  Board  began  its 
work  there  were  less  than  ten.  Then  our  people  was  homogeneous,  and  the 
weight  of  public  opinion  carried  society  over  to  the  observance,  at  least  in  out¬ 
ward  form,  of  Christian  institutions.  Now,  Europe  and  Asia  have  emptied 
their  hordes  upon  us,  while  vast  multitudes  of  heterogeneous  race  and  varied 
faith  have  spread  over  the  mighty  empire  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 


36 


Then  our  Reformed  Dutch  Zion  was  a  little  band,  upon  the  Hudson  and  con¬ 
fluent  streams ;  now  from  beyond  the  Mississippi  comes  the  call  for  the  Gospel. 

Our  large  cities  teem  with  Christless  multitudes.  The  proletariat,  dreaded  by 
political  economist,  is  swelled  by  the  throngs  entering  our  hospitable  seaports. 
The  fair  prairies  are  occupied  by  pioneers  of  civilization,  from  whose  children 
either  the  Lincolns  and  Garfields  or  the  Robert  Ingersolls  and  Jesse  Jameses 
may  be  expected.  As  “  Westward  the  Star  of  Empire  takes  its  way,”  it  is  not 
improbable,  in  the  years  to  come,  Hope  rather  than  Rutgers  will  be  the  great 
college  of  our  Church  ;  and  our  rallying  point  not  the  Hudson,  but  the  Great 
Lakes  of  the  Northwest. 

From  whatever  standpoint  we  look  at  our  wonderful  country  and  its  problem¬ 
atic  future,  our  interest  glows  with  an  intense  white  heat.  If  we  be  patriots, 
philanthropists,  Christians,  and  in  one  glance  mingle  the  emotions  these  three 
names  inspire,  how  are  we  looking  to-day  down  the  vista  of  the  future? 

When  a  score  of  years  ago  national  unity  and  existence  were  imperilled,  how 
the  women  of  America  sprang  to  the  rescue!  They  sewed  silken  stripes  and 
stars  into  the  banner  of  the  republic,  made  garments  for  the  soldiers  to  wear  in 
service,  and  rolled  bandages  to  bind  up  their  wounds,  nursed  the  sick,  cheered 
the  dying,  and  robed  the  dead  for  burial. 

« 

Now  that  love  of  Christ  mingles  so  largely  with  love  of  country,  and  loyalty 
to  ancestral  Church  with  loyalty  to  the  Union,  what  will  not  the  women  of 
America  and  of  our  Church  do  to  make  America  Christian  ? 

II.  The  'pre8ent  state  of  the  field  imperatively  demands  an  increase  in  the  con¬ 
tributions  of  the  Church. 

It  is  true  the  Domestic  Fund  is  out  of  debt,  but  the  Church  Building  Fund 
rests  under  a  trifline  encumbrance.  It  is  true  last  year  a  balance  in  the  treas¬ 
ury  was  reported,  but  had  it  not  been  for  the  legacies  that  balance  would  dis¬ 
appear  and  a  debt  of  $3,300  stand  in  its  place.  And,  in  addition  to  these  sig¬ 
nificant  facts,  this  statement  appears  in  our  Secretary’s  annual  report,  “We 
are  eager  and  waiting  to  enter  the  fields  which  are  beckoning  us  on,  and  during 
the  year  we  shall  be  compelled  to  add  nearly  one-third  to  the  above  obliga¬ 
tions.” 

In  a  word,  the  Church  does  not  support  its  Home  Missions,  and  although  econ¬ 
omy  has  been  strained  to  the  tension  of  weakened  strands,  the  gifts  of  the  living 
leave  an  annual  deficit.  If  Church-extension  is  to  obey  healthful  demands  of 
a  normal  growth,  so  as  to  give  promise  of  perpetuity  in  ecclesiastical  life  ;  if 
the  Reformed  Church  in  America  is  to  have  even  a  humble  share  in  evangel¬ 
izing  the  nation,  there  must  be  a  change,  amounting  almost  to  a  revolution,  in 
our  attitude  towards  Domestic  Missions. 

How  can  the  great  harvest  be  gathered  when  laborers  are  so  few  ?  While 
offering  our  Lord’s  prayer  for  more  harvesters,  let  this  experiment  be  tried. 
After  Boaz  and  his  servants  have  reaped  in  the  barley  field,  let  Ruth  lead  the 
maidens  of  Judah  to  glean  after  the  sheaves.  Some  good  handfuls  have  been 
dropped,  and  may  be  gathered  into  the  apron. 

It  is  often  flippantly  asserted  :  It  is  folly  to  divide  the  benevolence  of  the 
household  by  the  line  of  sex  ;  the  man  is  the  bread-winner,  and  all  comes  out 


37 


of  one  purse  ;  it  is  all  the  same,  whether  the  lord  of  the  mansion  gives  for  the 
family  or  each  member  be  permitted  to  cast  in  a  portion. 

But  I  reply :  First  of  all,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  every  church  contains  a 
number  of  women  who  control  the  purse  of  a  private  fortune  ;  the  widow,  the 
single  lady  who  has  inherited  the  patrimony  from  a  sainted  father  whose  benev¬ 
olence  was  known  through  the  Church,  and  even  the  married  woman  who  calls 
her  father’s  farm  her  own. 

Secondly^  there  are  many  self-supporting  women  who  insist  on  laying  aside  a 
portion  of  their  earnings  for  the  Lord. 

Thirdly,  if  husband  and  wife  together  began  in  early  life  the  accumulation 
of  good  means  in  the  partnership  of  home,  their  goods  are  common  stock.  She 
who  has  kept  his  house,  tended  his  children,  and  by  ten  thousand  economies 
added  to  the  fund,  is  just  as  much  entitled,  in  all  equity,  to  her  share  as  if  a 
business  agreement  had  been  mutually  made.  This  question  in  the  true  love- 
filled  home  is  never  raised ;  but  it  should  be  raised,  if  on  any  theory  the  wife 
be  deprived  of  the  luxury  of  a  personal  benevolence. 

If  churlish  Nabal  refuse  the  gift,  Abigail  may  with  propriety  lay  her  store  at 
the  feet  of  the  Lord’s  Anointed. 

Fourthly,  the  apostolic  ordinance  makes  giving  an  individual  duty.  As  no 
one  can  pray  in  place  of  another,  so  no  one  can  give  for  his  fellow.  Children 
should  be  trained  to  the  act,  and  not  brought  up  with  the  idea  that  the  father 
gives  for  the  few ;  and  the  mother  should  inculcate  this  lesson,  by  her  own 
example,  keeping  up  with  scrupulous  care  her  private  charities. 

Fifthly,  these  Female  Boards  do  not  take  a  dollar  from  the  regular  collectious. 
The  interest  excited  by  their  discussions  increases  rather  than  diminishes  these. 
Their  own  gatherings  are  all  clear  gain,  just  so  much  over  and  above  what  would 
have  been  given  without  them. 

III.  I  claim,  therefore,  there  are  missing  links  to  he  found  to  complete  the  beau¬ 
tiful  golden  chain  of  Home  Missions. 

If  female  workers  would  discover  opportunities  for  labor  distinctively  femi¬ 
nine,  they  need  not  look  in  vain.  What  is  to  prevent  the  Mission  Band  from 
corresponding  with  the  wife  of  the  Mission  pastor,  or  with  some  of  the  sisters 
in  Christ,  who  are  leaving  no  stone  unturned  to  make  their  organization  effec¬ 
tive? 

Such  intercourse  will  at  once  reveal  the  peculiar  wants  of  the  station,  and  the 
Ladies’  Aid  Society  in  the  strong  church  becomes  auxiliary  to  the  association  of 
the  weaker.  The  parsonage  is  furnished,  the  sanctuary  has  a  new  roof  to  keep 
out  the  Winter’s  snow,  and  is  warmed  by  a  new  furnace  that  people  may  in 
comfort  listen  to  the  Word.  The  Sunday-school  is  supplied  with  the  best  appli¬ 
ances  of  modern  discovery.  If  the  Sunday-school  has  not  grown  into  a  church, 
a  large  percentage  of  its  teachers  being  women,  their  heroic  efforts  appeal  to 
their  sisters  for  sympathy,  and  from  the  comfortable  church  parlors  goes  forth 
the  substantial  help  which  keeps  that  school  alive  until  such  time  as  the  church 
grows  from  it. 

Our  large  cities  employ  with  great  success  female  missionaries,  under  the 
name  Bible  Readers.  With  God’s  Word  in  hand  they  visit  tenement  houses,  to 
gather  children  for  the  Sunday-school  and  hearers  to  the  Gospel  sermon.  Econ- 


38 


omy  has  hitherto  restrained  the  Board  from  experiments  in  this  or  any  other 
direction,  but  if  the  Female  Mission  Bands  were  to  make  this  a  feature  of  tbeir 
work,  who  know  what  might  come  of  it  ? 

One  of  the  most  important  and  zealous  workers  is  the  missionary  at  Castle 
Garden,  who  gives  the  right  hand  of  welcome  in  the  name  of  our  Church  to 
emigrants  from  Fatherland.  How  precious  also  would  be  the  sisterly  greeting 
given  to  the  homesick  wives  and  daughters,  as  with  mingled  hopes  and  fears 
they  tread  the  soil  of  a  new  world !  A  lady  assistant  to  Brother  Bechthold 
would  be  as  much  a  Missionary  of  the  Cross  as  the  dear  sisters  who  are  in 
charge  of  our  schools  in  India,  China  or  Japan. 

These  suggestions  are  not  intended  to  exhaust  the  possibilities  of  female  en¬ 
terprise,  but  only  to  indicate  the  direction  in  which  further  search  is  to  be  pros¬ 
ecuted. 

The  Lord  will  answer  by  His  Providence  the  petition,  “  What  wilt  Thou  have 
me  to  do  ?  ”  Already  we  hear  the  answer  to  prayers  that  have  been  offered. 
“Organize  and  prepare  for  the  work.”  “Stand  in  Bands,  and  in  armed  readi¬ 
ness  wait  for  ‘  the  sound  of  a  going  in  the  tops  of  the  mulberry  trees.'  ”  If  it 
seem  better  not  to  multiply  machinery  by  organizing  a  Woman’s  Board  of  Do¬ 
mestic  Missions,  let  the  separate  circles  make  their  report  to  and  receive  their 
instructions  from  the  Synod’s  Board.  Our  eflicient  Secretary  will  put  them  in 
communication  with  those  who  need  help. 

The  new  societies  must  not  in  any  form  come  into  rivalry  or  competition  with 
the  auxiliaries  of  the  Woman’s  Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  We  cannot  afford 
any  clashing  of  interests  within  our  little  household.  The  spirit  of  this  new 
call  is  to  approve  most  heartily  all  that  has  been  done  and  is  still  doing  for  the 
heathen.  There  is  no  desire  to  claim  a  division  of  the  funds  which  this  agency 
is  in  the  babit  of  gathering,  or  in  any  way  to  interfere  with  this  admirable 
organization.  There  must  not  be  the  faintest  suspicion  of  jealousy  between 
workers  on  this  or  that  side  of  the  line.  “  This  ought  ye  to  have  done,  but  not 
to  have  let  the  other  undone,”  is  the  Master’s  admonition,  as  He  sees  neglected 
portions  in  marked  contrast  with  fields  well  tilled.  It  may  be  better  to  have 
two  societies,  one  for  each  department,  rather  than  one  general  Mission  Band 
to  cover  the  whole  ground.  If  an  individual,  for  reasons  which  seem  right  to 
herself,  prefer  one  Board  above  the  other,  we  may  utilize  that  preference  in  the 
name  of  the  work  at  large.  Christian  effort  gives  largest  scope  to  individuality, 
and  there  must  be  no  dictation  in  the  sacred  prerogative  of  benevolence.  In 
nearly  every  case,  however,  the  preference  will  be  exercised  with  a  regard  for 
the  whole  whitening  field ;  the  same  workers  will  manage  both  organizations, 
and  the  same  names  will  usually  appear  on  both  subscription  lists.  If  it  were 
true  that  the  Church  is  now  doing  her  very  best,  and  is  coming  up  to  the  full 
measure  of  responsibility  in  aggressive  warfare,  it  would  not  be  wise  to  present 
a  new  claimant  for  prayers  and  gifts.  The  claimant  is  urged  because  it  is  sin¬ 
cerely  believed  that,  without  abating  a  tittle  of  interest  in  existing  institutions, 
there  is  room  for  it  in  the  Church’s  heart.  Did  you  ever  know  a  mother  to  re¬ 
fuse  her  new-born  babe  a  place  in  her  home  ?  I  have  always  found  that  in  the 
snuggest  quarters  of  the  largest  families  the  heartiest  welcome  is  given  to  each 
infant  stranger.  Though  the  home  be  like  the  shoe  of  the  fabled  old  woman. 


39 


as  in  a  New  York  omnibus,  '■Hhere  is  always  room  for  one  more.'"'  When  the 
new  comer  is  domiciled  and  begins  to  make  known  his  legion  of  wants,  not  only 
are  they  all  supplied,  but  as  from  some  magic  reservoir  sisters  and  brothers  find 
enough  and  to  spare.  The  new  does  not  displace  the  old,  and  yet  the  new  finds 
abundance  waiting  for  it.  So  will  it  be  with  our  Christian  workers.  A  new 
child  is  waiting  at  the  door.  It  is  not  a  foundling.  It  is  the  offspring  of  the 
Church’s  enlarged  usefulness,  sent  in  answer  to  the  oft-repeated  prayer,  “  Thy 
kingdom  come.”  Though  the  household  of  faith  be  not  a  large  one,  and  the 
home  be  crowded  with  a  numerous  progeny,  let  every  mother’s  heart  open  to 
take  it  in.  Hold  it  lovingly  in  your  arms,  and  tenderly  nurture  its  feeble  life. 
Baptize  it  in  the  name  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  as  a  true  child  of  the 
covenant.  Call  not  its  name  Isaac,  with  the  derisive  laughter  of  unbelief,  sneer¬ 
ing  at  its  folly.  Call  it  not  Jacob,  jealously  looking  askance  at  the  supplanter. 
But  the  rather  name  it  in  token  of  its  origin — Samuel,  asked  of  God  f'  and 
as  an  expression  of  the  hopes  which  are  bound  up  in  its  life,  call  it  yet  again 
Isaiah,  Salvation  of  the  Lord.'"*  Then,  with  these  good  names  affixed,  train 
your  child  in  the  fear  and  favor  of  God,  until  in  years  to  come  it  grow  to  bless 
our  land,  and  be  a  support  unto  the  Church  of  our  Fathers. 


V. 


the  Special  Claims  of  Domestic  Missions. 


By  Rev.  DAVID  WATERS,  L.L.D. 


This  is  the  topic  which  has  been  assigned  to  me  as  the  particular  subject  of 
this  paper.  After  ail  that  you  have  already  heard  regarding  this  aspect  of  our 
Mission  work,  perhaps  some  may  be  almost  tempted  to  look  upon  my  theme  as  one 
of  supererogation.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions 
did  not  think  so,  nor  do  I.  On  the  contrary,  I  look  upon  the  duty  which  the 
Church  owes  to  that  phase  of  the  Master’s  work  as  one  of  pressing  importance. 
It  would  be  the  height  of  folly  in  the  rulers  of  any  country  were  they  to  neglect 
those  duties  which  are  always  pressing  for  attention — those  duties  which  relate 
to  the  good  government  of  the  land,  to  the  administration  of  justice,  and  to  the 
development  of  the  internal  resources  of  the  nation — in  the  eager  haste  to  extend 
the  boundaries  of  the  empire  by  conquest  or  treaty.  Ultimate  ruin  would  be 
the  final  outcome  of  such  suicidal  folly.  On  the  contrary,  those  nations  which 
are  the  most  prosperous — the  most  successful  colonizers  and  the  most  potent 
factors  in  the  civilization  and  evangelization  of  the  world — are  the  very  nations 
whose  people  and  rulers  attend  most  diligently  to  the  reform  of  abuses  at  home, 
to  the  righteous  administration  of  its  laws,  to  the  education  of  the  youth,  to  the 
development  of  all  the  natural  resources  of  the  land,  to  the  fostering  of  all  its 
great  industries ;  and  thus,  in  building  up  a  great  nation,  strong,  and  healthy 
with  the  pulsafion  of  a  vigorous  national  life  at  home,  it  becomes  respected  and 
successful  abroad.  This,  it  seems  to  me,  admits  of  no  dispute.  What  is  true 
concerning  the  nation  is  equally  true  concerning  the  Church.  The  Church 
which  neglects  its  home  field  in  order  to  wdn  victories  abroad  may  gain  renown, 
may  win  the  plaudits  of  others,  and  the  admiration  of  the  world — nay,  may  do 
grand  and  noble  work  for  the  Master — work  the  influence  of  which  shall  never 
die,  which  can  never  die,  because  it  is  work  for  God ;  but  a  neglected  home 
field  means,  first  a  cessation  of  growth,  then  decay,  then  finally  the  gasping  out 
of  a  life  which  has  forgotten  to  live — the  surrender  of  a  great  trust,  because  the 
palsied  hands  of  a  corpse  can  no  more  grasp  the  implements  of  labor.  Such,  I 
trust,  is  not  the  fate  reserved  for  the  Church  which  we  all  love,  a  Church  which 
is  the  child  of  Missionary  effort,  a  Church  w^hich  has  been  the  instrument  of  so 
much  good,  which  has  done  right  noble  work  in  its  foreign  field,  and  which  is 


41 


how  stretching  out  its  hands  to  the  great  fields  of  the  West,  in  order  that  it  may 
take  its  own  share  in  the  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel  to  some  of  the  multi¬ 
tudes  who  are  pressing  onward  toward  the  setting  sun,  and  thus  help  to  brighten 
their  lives  with  the  blessed  hopes  of  the  Christian,  and  build  them  up  in  that 
righteousness  which  alone  can  make  a  nation  great. 

Our  Domestic  is  distinguished  from  our  Foreign  Mission  work  by  being  car¬ 
ried  on  in  our  own  land.  There  is  no  opposition  ;  such  a  thing  as  opposition 
should  never  be  thought  of  as  existing  between  the  Home  and  Foreign  Mission 
work.  The  work  is  one — only  different  branches  of  the  same  great  task  which 
the  Master  has  committed  to  the  Church  in  the  marching  orders  which  He  has 
given  to  it,  Oo  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature."' 
Right  nobly  has  the  Reformed  Church  performed  one  aspect  of  this  great  work. 
It  has  gone  out  into  the  heathen  world  with  a  noble  courage,  with  a  self-deny¬ 
ing  zeal,  with  a  splendid  liberality,  with  a  grand  band  of  heroic  men  and 
women,  who  responded  to  the  Macedonian  cry,  and  who  have  gone  up  to  the 
help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty.  Large  has  been  the  measure  of  success, 
and  wonderful  the  results  which  have  flowed  from  the  Foreign  Mission  work 
of  the  Church.  This  work  must,  from  the  very  nature  and  conditions  of  suc¬ 
cessful  effort  in  a  foreign  field,  expand  and  appeal  to  the  liberality  and  zeal  of 
the  Church  at  home — an  appeal  which,  we  trust,  will  be  as  nobly  responded  to 
in  the  future  as  it  has  been  in  the  past.  Not  for  a  moment  would  I  have  the 
thought  take  possession  of  the  minds  of  any  of  our  people  that  we  have  done 
or  can  do  too  much  for  the  advancement  of  the  Lord’s  work  among  the  heathen 
nations  of  the  world.  We  have  not,  nor  can  we. 

But,  while  the  Church  has  done  so  well  in  one  direction,  every  lover  of  our 
Zion  must  desire  to  see  our  Home  Mission  work  pressed  forward  with  equal 
zeal,  and  supported  by  as  large  a  measure  of  liberality. 

When  we  look  at  kindred  Churches  we  see  that  their  growth  and  prosperity 
have  been  in  proportion  to  the  zeal  and  earnestness  with  which  they  have  pros¬ 
ecuted  their  Home  Mission  work. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  in  Canada,  with  which  I  am  somewhat  well  ac¬ 
quainted,  has  never  been  anything  else,  with  all  its  equipment  of  professors  and 
pastors,  than  a  Church  organized  for  Home  Mission  work.  Whatever  else  it 
set  its  hands  to  do,  whether  of  Collegiate  or  of  Foreign  Mission  wwk,  that 
Church  ever  felt  that  its  great  mission  was  to  follow  the  pioneers  of  the  new 
settlements  with  the  Gospel  and  the  missionary.  From  Newfoundland  and  its 
rocky  shores  to  the  plains  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  beyond 
it  has  occupied  the  land  on  the  other  side  of  the  border,  until  now,  in  the  course 
of  something  like  fifty  years,  it  has  grown  from  a  scattered  band  of  widely 
separated  churches  and  missionaries  into  a  compact,  united  organization,  with 
more  than  700  ministers  and  more  than  100,000  communicants.  I  mention  this 
because  I  happen  to  know  the  facts,  and  because  we  have  had  a  share  in  that 
great  work  in  the  early  days  of  the  Church’s  life  and  settlement  of  the  country. 
As  far  back  as  the  beginning  of  the  century,  when  that  land  was  only  partially 
ooened  up,  the  Reformed  Church  had  its  missionaries  on  the  northern  shores  of 
Lake  Ontario,  and  down  by  the  sea  in  Nova  Scotia. 

What  is  true  concerning  that  Church  is  equally  true  concerning  others.  The 


42 


British  Churches  which  have  shown  the  greatest  zeal,  and  have  been  the  most 
successful  in  other  departments  of  Church  work,  have  been  distinguished  for 
the  success  with  which  they  have  prosecuted  the  work  of  Domestic  Missions. 
The  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland  has  grown  to  its  present  distin¬ 
guished  position  from  a  small  handful  of  men  who  seceded  from  the  Church  of 
Scotland  because  they  could  not,  with  a  clear  conscience,  continue  within  her 
pale.  It  has  grown  chiefly  on  account  of  the  earnest,  faithful,  persevering 
efforts  which  were  put  forth  in  its  own  home  field — a  field  apparently  occupied 
by  the  powerful  Church  which  had  the  support  and  prestige  which  its  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  State  gave  it.  Need  I  speak  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Ireland,  and  of  the  progress  which  is  being  made 
by  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  England  at  the  present  day  ?— Churches  which 
are  vigorously  and  successfully  prosecuting  their  Home  Mission  work.  They 
are  what  they  are  because  they  have  done  that  work  thoroughly  and  well. 

The  work  of  the  American  Presbyterian  Church  is  before  us,  and  needs  no 
comment  of  mine  to  enforce  the  lesson  which  it  teaches. 

When  we  consider  the  extent  of  the  field,  the  whole  land  is  before  us !  In 
our  towns  and  cities,  in  quiet  country  villages  in  the  older  States,  and  in  the 
great  fields  of  the  West,  there  are  multitudes  waiting  to  be  taught  the  way  of 
life.  In  the  older  States  there  is  still  an  ample  field  for  the  best  and  most  per¬ 
severing  efforts  which  can  be  put  forth.  It  surely  is  not  our  duty  to  say  that 
the  field  is  already  occupied,  that  other  and  kindred  Churches  have  entered  into 
possession  of  the  territory,  and  therefore  are  not  to  be  disturbed.  No ;  they 
are  not  to  be  disturbed  in  the  fields  which  they  have  honestly  won,  and  are  dil¬ 
igently  cultivating.  We  have  no  desire  to  enter  into  the  labors  of  others,  or  to 
build  upon  another  man’s  foundation.  But,  because  I  do  not  wish  to  pull  down 
my  neighbor’s  house  and  build  another  for  myself  on  his  ground,  that  surely  is 
no  reason  why  I  should  decline  to  enter  upon  land  which  I  may  acquire,  and 
build  upon  it  such  a  house  as  shall  best  suit  myself.  The  new  settler  in  the 
western  world  is  never  prevented  from  entering  upon  unoccupied  land  which  is 
suitable  for  the  purpose  of  the  husbandman  because  other  men  may  have  occu¬ 
pied  the  land  in  its  immediate  neighborhood.  It  is  rather  an  inducement  for 
him  to  settle  there,  because  he  shall  not  be  alone  in  the  world.  In  all  our  grow¬ 
ing  towns  and  cities  there  is  ample  room  for  the  best  efforts  of  the  Reformed 
Church — efforts  which  shall  not  interfere  with  kindred  Churches.  Of  all  con¬ 
temptible  things,  the  most  utterly  contemptible  is  the  attempt  to  build  up 
Churches  at  the  expense  of  others  of  kindred  faith  and  order,  who  are  preach¬ 
ing  the.Gospel  of  Christ  with,  at  least,  as  much  earnestness  and  fulness  as  those 
who  may  interfere  with  their  work.  If  the  work  of  the  Reformed  Church 
cannot  be  carried  on  without  such  intermeddling,  then  there  is  only  one  thing 
left  for  that  Church  to  do,  and  that  is  to  die — as  gracefully  as  may  be,  but  as  a 
Church  to  cease  from  putting  forth  any  signs  which  shall  bear  the  appearance 
of  life.  As  we  are  not  dead,  and  have  no  intention  whatever  of  dying,  it  fol¬ 
lows  that,  if  we  are  to  maintain  vigorous  health  as  a  Church,  we  must  find  work 
and  exercise  which  shall  set  the  life-blood  pulsing  to  the  farthest  extremities  of 
the  body.  That  work  and  exercise  can  be  found  in  the  vigorous  prosecution  of 
our  Home  Mission  work.  The  field  is  ample  enough.  It  is  at  our  very  doors. 


43 


In  all  our  towns  and  cities,  with  a  rapidly  increasing  population,  there  is  work 
for  us  to  do — multitudes  to  be  gathered  into  the  fold  of  the  Good  Shepherd, 
that  there  they  may  go  in  and  out  and  find  pasture.  In  the  city  of  Newark, 
where  we  are  now  assembled,  there  was  pot  fifty  years  ago  one  Reformed 
church  ;  now  there  are  seven.  The  First  organized  in  1833,  the  Second  in 
1848,  the  North  in  1856,  the  West  (German)  in  1866,  the  Clinton  Avenue  in 
1868,  the  East  in  1869,  and  the  Woodside  church  later  still.  The  young  church 
in  Plainfield,  which  has  grown  with  such  wonderful  celerity,  is  so  youthful  that 
I  find  no  mention  made  of  it  in  the  last  edition  of  the  Manual  of  the  Reformed 
churches.  1  mention  this  to  show  that  the  work  which  has  been  carried  on 
here  and  in  Plainfield  can  be  equally  as  well  carried  on  in  other  growing  cen¬ 
ters  of  population.  We  are  not  to  be  turned  aside  from  the  contemplation  of 
this  pressing  duty  by  quietly  intimating  that  the  Reformed  Church  is  only 
adapted  to  Dutchmen  or  their  descendants.  Perhaps  that  thought  may  have 
been  lurking  in  the  minds  of  the  fathers  when  they  planted  themselves  down  in 
the  valleys  of  the  Hudson  and  the  Mohawk,  of  the  Passaic  and  the  Raritan.  It 
may  perhaps  have  influenced  the  course  of  some  in  dealing  with  this  all-import¬ 
ant  question.  But  I  trust  that  time  has  vanished,  never  to  return.  When  it 
comes  to  that,  we  are  all  of  one  race,  nay,  of  one  family.  The  Dutchmen  of 
Holland  are  only  the  people  who  remained  behind  when  the  Angles  and  Saxons 
and  Jutes  crossed  the  narrow  sea  to  Britain.  Those  who  thus  crossed  over  be¬ 
came  in  process  of  time  the  English  people,  who  brought  their  name  with  them. 
Then  when  the  Knickerbocker  fathers  settled  in  New  Amsterdam,  and  brought 
their  Reformed  faith  and  their  Reformed  pastors  with  them,  it  was  simply  a 
branch  of  the  same  family,  who  had  come  to  this  new  land  without  stopping 
for  a  few  hundred  years  by  the  way  at  the  island  of  Britain,  with  their  kinsfolk 
there.  When  the  English  folk  came  settling  in  New  England,  it  was  the  same 
sturdy  race  as  the  people  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson,  only  before  they  came 
to  the  New  World  they  had  sojourned  by  the  way  for  a  thousand  years,  more 
or  less,  at  the  island  of  Britain.  I  mention  these  facts,  which  have  been  so 
clearly  developed  by  the  historian  Freeman,  to  show  that  the  people  among 
whom  our  work  lies  is  one  ;  that  whether  we  have  come  to  this  land  from  the 
older  Anglen  land  on  the  east  of  the  North  Sea,  or  from  that  land  by  way  of 
Britain,  we  are  substantially  one  people.  And  therefore,  if  the  Reformed  faith 
and  the  order  of  the  Reformed  Churches  were  found  to  be  suitable  for  the  men 
of  Holland,  and  their  kinsfolk  from  Scotland  and  England  who  sojourned  with 
them  in  the  trying  days  when  the  Reformed  faith  was  persecuted  in  Britain,  it 
must  be  adapted  to  the  same  race  still,  whether  the  members  of  it  are  to  be  found 
in  great  centers  of  population  such  as  New  York  and  Newark,  Brooklyn  and 
Albany,  Philadelphia  or  New  Brunswick,  or  in  quiet  river  valleys  like  the  Mo¬ 
hawk  and  Raritan,  in  the  older  settled  portions  of  this  New  World,  or  on  the 
very  fringe  of  our  advancing  civilization,  which  goes  ever  westward  like  the 
advancing  wave  of  a  mighty  tide  which  so  far  has  not  reached  its  highest  point 
and  turned  into  an  ebb.  No  ;  that  tide  of  population  is  still  flowing  on  with 
undiminished  volume  and  speed,  and  it  will  continue  to  flow  until  the  whole 
land  shall  respond  to  the  mighty  surf-beat  of  the  advancing  wave,  which  bears 
on  its  crest  the  life  of  the  New  World. 


44 


Such  is  the  field,  aud  such  the  work  lying  before  us.  Part  of  that  field  has 
already  been  brought  under  your  notice,  when  the  claims  of  the  Holland  and 
German  branches  of  the  population  were  pressed  upon  you.  But  we  must  not 
confine  ourselves  to  these  special  branches  of  the  Church’s  work.  Our  mission 
is  to  enter  in  wherever  we  find  an  open  door,  and  labor  earnestly  for  the  ad¬ 
vancement  of  the  Redeemer’s  kingdom.  In  the  East  and  West  the  fields  are 
white  already  to  the  harvest.  Are  we  to  find  the  reapers,  or  shall  the  gathering 
[u  of  the  great  harvest  be  left  to  others  who  have  a  clearer  and  keener  apprecia¬ 
tion  of  the  great  duty  which  the  Master  has  laid  upon  His  Church  ?  This  dut}’- 
the  fathers  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America  somewhat  clearly  compre¬ 
hended.  As  soon  as  the  Church  gained  her  independence,  contributions  began 
to  be  taken  up,  and  churches  were  established  in  the  outskirts  of  the  old  settle¬ 
ments  and  in  central  New  York.  In  the  period  between  1786-1832  no  less  than 
250  ministers  had  begun  to  labor  in  the  denomination  ;  since  that  time  nearly 
400  churches  have  been  organized.  I  mention  these  facts  to  show  that  the  Re¬ 
formed  Church  has  not  only  been  fully  alive  to  its  duty  in  the  past,  but  that  it 
has  been  blessed  with  a  large  measure  of  success. 

Let  this  Jubilee  year  mark  a  new  departure  in  the  work  of  Domestic  Missions. 
Much  has  been  accomplished,  but  more,  very  much  more,  remains  to  be  done. 

Our  Reformed  Church  is  well  fitted  to  bear  its  share  in  this  work.  Its  creed 
is  in  harmony  with  the  teaching  of  the  Divine  Word  and  in  accord  with  the 
standards  of  the  Churches  of  the  Reformation.  It  sets  forth  the  great  truths 
concerning  God  and  man,  the  demerit  of  sin,  Christ  and  the  great  salvation, 
with  clearness  and  power.  It  emphasizes  those  truths  both  in  its  professors’ 
chairs  and  in  its  pulpits,  so  that  from  both  the  one  and  the  other  there  shall  be 
no  uncertain  sound.  Whilst  it  quarrels  with  no  man  for  holding  views  which 
are  not  in  harmony  with  that  which  it  believes  to  be  the  truth  of  God’s  Word, 
it  will  allow  no  man,  no  matter  how  great  his  ability,  or  how  wide  and  varied 
soever  bis  culture  and  learning,  to  teach  either  as  professor  or  preacher  that 
which  the  Church  believes  to  be  out  of  harmony  with  the  Divine  Word.  This 
is  no  small  recommendation  in  such  a  time  as  this,  when  men’s  minds  are  un¬ 
settled,  and  when  many  who  ought  to  know  what  their  message  is,  seem  to 
know  neither  w^hat  to  say  nor  whereof  to  affirm.  The  Church  should  be  like 
the  great  beacon  on  the  rocky  headland,  hashing  its  saving  light  out  over  the 
tempest-tossed  ocean,  so  that  the  iron-bound  coast  may  be  avoided  or  the  safe 
haven  reached  in  safety,  and  not  the  deceitful  light  of  the  wrecker,  whose  only 
aim  is  to  lure  the  unwary  to  destruction.  The  false  light  is  the  glare  of  the 
wrecker’s  torch.  The  Divine  Truth  is  the  steady  light  shining  out  over  the  great 
sea  of  the  world’s  life,  so  that  each  one  who  will  suffer  himself  to  be  guided  by 
that  light  may  reach  the  Divinely-provided  haven  where  storms  shall  be  no  more. 
This  is  what  the  Reformed  Church  strives  to  do.  It  professes  to  be  one  of  the 
Master’s  great  light-bearers,  holding  aloft  the  great  light  of  Divine  Truth  so 
that  it  may  shine  out  over  a  dark  world. 

But  we  can  go  out  with  a  good  conscience,  appealing  to  our  fellow  country¬ 
men,  not  only  because  we  hold  and  teach  the  very  Truth  of  God,  but  also  be¬ 
cause  we  hold  a  system  of  polity  which  harmonizes  with  the  practice  of  the 
earlj  Church  and  is  admirably  adapted  to  fit  into  tbe  life  of  a  free  country.  It 


45 


is  neither  an  ecclesiastical  imperialism  on  the  one,  nor  an  ill  regulated  democracy 
on  the  other.  It  welds  together  in  one  compact  and  firmly  knit  organization 
all  the  separate  churches  of  the  denomination.  It  is  like  a  great  ecclesiastical 
commonwealth,  with  its  consistories  and  classes,  its  particular  and  general 
synods.  It  makes  provision  for  the  complete  representation  of  the  people  by 
elders  and  deacons  in  the  consistory.  These  may  be  retained  from  term  to 
term  in  the  active  duties  of  their  office,  or  a  change,  if  desired,  can  be  made  by 
the  vote  of  their  constituents.  In  the  classes  and  the  synods  the  churches  have 
a  full  and  complete  representation.  It  acknowledges  only  one  Head.  It  lives 
in  humble,  loving,  loyal  submission  to  one  King — His  name  is  Jesus.  He  is  the 
Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  the  root  and  the  offspring  of  David,  the  bright  and 
morning  star. 

A  Church  thus  constituted  and  governed,  a  Church  which  reached  its  right  to 
hold  its  creed,  to  preach  the  truth  and  govern  itself,  by  blood  and  fire,  by  stake 
and  scaffold,  by  dungeon  and  battle-field,  may  surely  go  out  into  this  free  land 
feeling  that  God  has  given  to  it  no  mean  share  in  moulding  and  building  up  the 
life  of  this  nation. 

If  this  land  is  not  won  and  kept  for  the  Master’s  use  by  the  instrumentality  of 
the  Gospel,  by  the  efforts  of  the  various  branches  of  the  Church,  it  will  not 
only  be  lost  to  the  Church  of  God,  but  will  be  opposed  to  Him  Whose  right  it  is 
to  reign  and  rule  over  all  hearts.  If  our  Christian  civilization  and  liberty  are  to 
be  preserved,  if  the  multitudes  who  are  pouring  into  this  land  from  the  Old 
World  are  to  be  not  only  received,  not  only  adopted  as  citizens,  but  assimilated 
to  the  life  of  the  nation  and  built  up  into  its  organic  unity — then  the  Churches 
of  God  must  be  up  and  doing.  We  of  the  Reformed  Church  must  bear  our 
share  of  the  burden  and  do  our  part  in  the  noble  work.  Is  it  not  a  grand,  a 
noble  work?  To  help  to  build  up  the  life  of  a  great  nation  in  principles  of 
everlasting  righteousness ! 

The  young  man  who  steps  from  the  seminary  with  all  the  glow  and  zeal  of 
his  young  life,  with  all  the  training  and  drill  of  his  collegiate  career  as  a  prepara¬ 
tion  for  his  work,  into  the  front  ranks  of  Immanuel’s  great  army,  stands  in  the 
place  of  honor  under  the  eye  of  the  Captain  of  the  Lord’s  Hosts.  He  is  a  com¬ 
missioned  office-bearer  in  that  great  army  whose  battle  is  with  the  banded  legions 
of  wickedness,  whose  war  cry  is  “The  World  for  Christ,”  whose  motto  is 
“Faithful  Unto  Death,”  and  whose  promise  is  “  The  Crown  of  Life.”  The 
Home  Missionary  who  goes  out  into  the  new  regions  of  our  own  land,  or  into 
the  neglected  by- w' ays  of  the  great  city,  is  doing  just  as  noble  work  as  the  man 
who  labors  in  India  or  China  for  the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer’s  kingdom. 
Nay,  his  hardships  and  anxieties  may  in  many  respects  be  more  trying  and  more 
difficult  to  bear.  There  is  none  of  the  glow  of  romance  which  shines  around 
the  man  who  is  working  under  the  sun  of  a  heathen  land.  On  the  frontier  in 
the  new  settlement,  in  the  great  city,  there  is  often  to  be  encountered  a  baptized 
paganism,  harder,  colder,  more  unlovely  and  repellant  than  the  heathenism  of 
far  distant  lands.  All  honor  to  the  men  who  gird  themselves  for  the  fight  which 
is  in  progress  in  our  own  land. 

But  I  must  close.  Is  it  in  vain  that  we  have  held  our  Jubilee,  which  has  now 
reached  its  closing  hours?  Are  we  to  appeal  in  vain  to  our  churches  for  an 


46 

increase  of  liberality  to  our  young  men,  for  more  laborers  to  go  out  into  the 
great  wide  home  field  where  they  may  toil  for  Christ,  to  our  men  of  wealth, 
for  more  abundant  help  for  the  Master’s  cause  ?  By  the  love  we  bear  to  the 
Church  of  our  fathers  or  of  our  adoption,  by  the  obligations  under  which  we 
rest  to  the  land  in  which  we  dwell,  by  our  love  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  our 
kinsmen  according  to  the  fiesh,  by  our  sworn  vows  of  loyalty  to  the  Master  and 
His  cause,  by  all  these  solemn  considerations  we  are  bound  to  make  this  Jubilee 
year  the  beginning  of  a  new  era,  the  starting-point  of  a-  new  departure  in  the 
grand  work  of  winning  the  world  for  Christ. 


